In the sphere of the Norwegian Black Metal act GEHENNA, there always were some other bands somehow connected to them, staff-wise. One of these bands is THE DEVIANT, who consist (or consisted) of ex-members of both GEHENNA and 122 STAB WOUNDS. After their formation in 2001, THE DEVIANT released a demo and a first full length (“Ravenous Deathworship”) quite soon before taking a very long break of more than a decade. It seemed that they were already dead and gone until the beginning of this year, when they released their second album “Lightning Bolts”. And what an album this one is! From the first notes, it convinced me with a mix of Black and Death Metal that is simply refreshing and destroying at the same time. I haven’t heard such great blackened guitars in quite a while, since they sound both harmonic and punching. Combined with the driving drums, the sometimes distorting bass and well placed breaks and speed changes, THE DEVIANT created music that just catches the ear. Just listen to the opening ‘Beast Of Malevolence’ or the title track, and you’ll understand. But the other songs on “Lightning Bolts” are as great. ‘Deception’, for example, has a certain Black Thrash feeling, while ‘Immolate’ comes along with guitars a lot of contemporary Black Metal acts would kill for. ‘Night Of The Mortars’ and ‘Those Of The Dead’ take no prisoners either, while ‘Elite’ has some subtle guitar in the style of the best days of the Gothenburg school. After more than 40 minutes, “Lightning Bolts” ends with the final barrage of riffs called ‘Trenchart’ and it’s time to hit the repeat bottom. Taking into concern that THE DEVIANT released this album all on their own, it’s a real pity. There are loads of bands out there with a record deal who release only rubbish, so I hope that those guys in the record companies don’t sit on their ears and give THE DEVIANT a deal, optimally combined with a vinyl release as well. Until this hopefully pretty near day, you can only get ‘Lightning Bolts’ on CD from the band itself. So don’t hesitate to contact them at: www.facebook.com/officialthedeviant