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"Queer hardcore punk from Richmond VA that pulls from late 2000's Richmond hardcore as much as it doesn 80's USHC. Sharing members with Nosebleed, Mad Existence, Haircut, Itch etc., Deviant seeks not to reinvent the wheel, yet destroy it; preferring to incite chaos than create an artistic statement. Lyrics dealing with self hatred, self homophobia and disease; deviant isn't interested in presenting their pain, but inflicting it. Released on new label, 11 PM records, Deviant will be touring across America in 2019."-John Scanlon
Our take: Debut 7” from this hardcore band from Richmond, Virginia. Deviant features members of several contemporary Richmond bands like Nosebleed and Haircut, but they base their sound more on the 00s glory days of Richmond punk, when No Way and Grave Mistake Records were at the height of their popularity. Bob Quirk recorded the record (he also recorded several classic releases from that 00s era) and the sound is a tightly wound variant of classic USHC that dials up the intricacy as high as it will go without losing the catchiness. The songs are great, with catchy riff after catchy riff and countless stops, starts, and tempo changes to keep the songs interesting. The playing is locked-in and powerful, the band both nimble and punishing. The vocals also have a ton of personality, balancing the tightness of the music with a wild and unhinged quality. Even though this is a straightforward US hardcore record, there isn’t a moment here that sounds cheesy, forced, or plagiarized… it’s a pure and articulate expression of what hardcore is supposed to be. If you love nothing more than a great 6-song hardcore EP get this… you won’t be disappointed.