Deviated Instinct- Liberty Crawls to the Sanctuary of Slaves LP review

Deviated Instinct- Liberty Crawls to the Sanctuary of Slaves LP review

Contrary to most crusty albums I listen to, this one starts off kind of slow, almost like a British version of Xibalba.  The intro to “Blunt Instrument” is absolutely pounding, almost sounding like a hardcore band.  As the song progresses, deep growls are uttered over metallic riffs that ring almost like a cooler, non-hick version of Pantera.  Slap a west-coast hardcore band name on this and kids will go nuts- even as Deviated Instinct, it’s killer, and people should mosh to this.  “Architect of Misery” is definitely more along traditional crusty lines- galloping riffs, downtuned guitars, and ominous vocals.  The slower pace is better for the band, as some of the intensity is much more accented because of it.  “Thorn in Your Flesh” has the heavy hardcore feel once again, and despite my constantly comparing this band to modern hardcore band that are really, really heavy, these guys were doing this in the late 80s, so it would be no surprise if Harm’s Way or Xibalba jammed some Deviated Instinct at least once in the band members’ lives.  This band puts more energy into the guitars, however; the modern heavy hardcore bands put the oomph of their sound into the drums and the vocals.  “Blandscape Slavebait” begins with a splice of an audio snippet that sounds like a busy train or subway station and a distant acoustic guitar, then a melodic guitar strums away before the singer grunts and growls through a mid-tempo punky tune.  For the chorus, an alternate vocalist snaps in as well.  This song really only has two parts- not a very captivating song, and a confusing one as well.  “End Times” has a slightly faster pace and crunchier guitar, almost like the anarcho/ crust version of “Ain’t It Fun”- this was a real punisher.  Closing out this crusty record was “Judas Cancer”, a hardcore-sounding song that is not unlike Axegrinder, but actually enjoyable.  There are multiple instruments playing their own parts here- I really dug this track.

Not the most explosive release of the year, but a fair LP for the average punk.  Crusties will eat this up, hardcore kids will make fun of them for it, and the world spins ‘round.  A respectable release- not time wasted.

-Aunty Social