Antichrist Demoncore/To The Point – split 7” – Deep Six

ACxDC is a polarizing band.  Kicking off in the early 2000’s, the band broke up in 2005 and reformed in 2010 for some reunion shows and have been building momentum ever since.  In that time, their 2005 ep“He Had It Coming” has been re-released along with 2012’s “The Second Coming”, a 2013 3-way split with Magnum Force/Sex Prisoner and this split with To The Point.  ACxDChas always been a blend of metal and some really fast hardcore capped with a Spazz-like over-the-top vibe.  Say what you will about them though, these guys merch like a mofo and tour to wherever they can; they definitely put in work.  On this split, they come with 4 songs that sound much more “core” than their seizure in a phone booth brand of grind violence.  They kick off with a heavy bass, puffed chest, walk in that develops into a mid-tempo, chugging intro.  That “core” vibe continues into the next song with a Youth Crew-ish riff that is broken up by bursts of fastcore.  Their third song begins with some decent grindcore before coming to a complete stop then stomping out, elbows and knees flailing.    They end their side with a more traditional powerviolence track.  Up tempo riffing to blast to beatdown with tortured shouts accented with a death growl.  All in all, ACxDCshowcase their range.  They added some “core”, gave you their grind violence, and refined their PV.  It’s like watching a mixed martial artist wrestle, box, and then choke a fool out all in the same fight.  

Regarding the To The Point side of the split; I considered showcasing their members, as a good chunk of my record collection wouldn’t exist without them, but decided against it as there are no icons or heroes that exist in hardcore despite the enormous amounts of respect felt towards certain people in the scene that gave all and still found a way to come back and give some more.   As someone who still carries “Trapped Inside” with me to the gym on chest and back days (ok, I’m totally lying about the gym, but if I were to go to the gym to work chest and back I would take “Trapped Inside” with me), anything To The Point puts out seems like a bonus on life, although they do differ somewhat from Lack Of Interest(which share members).  Tormented by kids who post pictures of their food on the Internet, Caveman stomps back from Pangaea to deliver Paleozoic barks behind that patented Los Angeles powerviolence sound that has been making squatters scatter since the mid-80’s.  It’s fast, it’s raw, the drum timing is sick, and it’s pissed off like you would expect; although it’s not as dissonant sonically as Lack Of Interest or Infest. To The Point essentially walk into the scene, shove all these powerviolence trend biting bands out of the way and show them what they wished they could sound like.  An interesting note, there are only 6 songs from To The Pointon this, but there are 7 songs with lyrics listed from them in the jacket fold.  

At the end of the day, this is a solid split showcasing two heavy weights in the Los Angeles scene.  Without even being able to turn around without a new powerviolence band trying to emulate what once was, it’s nice to hear two of the best come together on this.  Props to both bands for putting together some shows for those lucky enough to attend.