This came out in 2000 — or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Hey, parents. Want to buy a CD for your disaffected teen that’ll make you seem cool — without pushing them over the edge into black trenchcoats and body piercings? Pitchshifter’s Deviant is just what the child psychologist ordered.
Never mind the title; these guys are so safe they could have a Good Housekeeping Seal Of Approval. Like your disgruntled adolescent, these post-industrial techno-metaloids yearn to be taken seriously and assert their individuality. Of course, they don’t want to be so individual that they’re, like, different and unpopular. So first they competently jam together the best musical bits of Nine Inch Nails, White Zombie and a few other electro-rock outfits. For punk street cred, they add a touch of Johnny Rotten (name-checked on Dead Battery) and former Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra (who guest-rants on As Seen On TV). Then they serve it up in easy-to-swallow morsels like Hidden Agenda and Everything’s F—d. Don’t get me wrong: I’ll take Pitchshifter over the Bizkits and Britneys of the world any day. But really, they’re about as deviant as a backward ball cap.
