In addition to all the thrash I've been listening to lately, I've been reminded of a number of European hardcore bands that I hadn't listened to in a good bit of time. A few Deviate tracks keep popping up on my iPod lately, and "State of Grace" has always been my favorite of their albums. The band formed in Belgium circa 1991, and this was their fourth full-length (they dropped their fifth and final album in 2002), released in 1999 by I Scream Records (Too Damn Hype released it in the US a year or so later). While a number of their other albums are worth acquiring, for me this is the one record where the stars aligned and everything came together perfectly: The production, the songwriting, the energy and atmosphere, etc. They weren't exactly breaking new ground, but this is a perfectly balanced slab of metallic hardcore. You've got your chugging grooves and gruff vocals; your stripped down, fast-paced hardcore; your thrashy picking patterns with just a little hint of a death metal lean (as opposed to some of the other Belgian bands that utilized much more blatant death metal influences), etc. But there are actually some really fuckin' catchy hooks on this thing, so you get all the best qualities of bands like Madball or Biohazard, but wrapped up in a darker and more metal-influenced approach that still remains firmly rooted in hardcore. While I don't hear Deviate mentioned all that often these days, I believe they reached a very decent level of popularity in their time, and they certainly remain deserving of attention even today. I know I'm not really saying much here, but the whole point is to simply introduce people to bands they may have missed out on "back in the day", so... check out a few tunes below and do some more digging if you like 'em.
Deviate "State of Grace"
Deviate "Dawn of Mankind"
While no longer readily available, you can thankfully still score cheap used copies (or mp3's) via Amazon.com, so... pick one up while you still can if you've been sleeping on these guys for the last decade or two!
Get It
Amazon.com (CD)
Amazon.com (mp3)
Comments
Awesome band, although I’d probably go for Thorn of the Living. What a killer album.
8.19.2011 | By inhalexhale
Great band! I’m digging this! :)
8.20.2011 | By Carlos
Good to read you writing back on older bands too and Deviate is just a great band! I also just recently checked backcataloque of this band and got really into them!
8.20.2011 | By xMarkusxKTL
I have to agree with inhalexhale, Thorn of the Living would be my pick, but Deviate were cool. Why did I think they were Dutch though?
8.20.2011 | By JamieX666X
“Thorn of the Living” is a close second for me.
8.20.2011 | By Andrew Aversionline
As much as like Deviate, I have to say I prefer Kirby’s other bands….Arkangel and Length of Time.
8.21.2011 | By Blasphemour Records
Michel Kirby has an absolutely amazing track record, I must agree. I love all of those bands.
8.21.2011 | By Andrew Aversionline
Goddamn, this shit is fucking great! Another awesome post… ha I can do without all the obscure 80s thrash but I can’t believe how much amazing hxc was going down in Europe in the 90s that I had no idea about at the time. People like to hate on the internet cause shit ain’t like the old worldwide tape trading days or whatever, but there’s so much good shit I would’ve never heard if not for it.
8.21.2011 | By Marcus
What Inhale said.
8.22.2011 | By Anonymous
Haven’t broken these dudes out in a long time. But yep - great album - tough, heavy, dark.
8.22.2011 | By hutch1377
Singer Danny currently does AngelCrew, also featuring members of Backfire and Length of Time (singer Rosse plays guitar there and does vocals, as does Pat from Backfire). They have two full lengths that are both good, especially the last one.
8.27.2011 | By Just KillingTime
My favorite Deviate records is probably Wreck Style, gotta love the groovy crossover vibe of that one. That said, both Thorn Of The Living and State Of Grace are brillant 90’s euro hardcore records in their own rights.
Hope more people will get into them with this post.
9.1.2011 | By Fred
Haha, I’m going through your old blog posts, and find this. I’ve listened to this band quite a bit in the years past, but haven’t thought of them for years, as I only had a couple of CDs that I now don’t own anymore. They were one of the first bands I stumbled upon when I got into hardcore, actually, so thanks for bringing them up. I’ll acquire the album immediately.
10.11.2013 | By Andrej