HIP Video Promo Presents: Divergent releases brand new album “Rev It Up”

Divergent premieres all new album “Rev It Up” on New Noise Magazine

JOHNSTON, IA, UNITED STATES, October 1, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — In every sense, Divergent is a band built on brotherhood. Lead vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist James Richards, his brother Paul Richards on drums and vocals, and bassist and vocalist Mike McAlister grew up together. Friends since childhood, they went to the same southwest Iowa high school before life pulled them in different directions. After decades apart, they reunited and began recording in 2024, reviving a dream set aside for roughly 40 years. Since then, they have had an unusually active stretch: releasing music and videos, doing interviews, staying consistent on social media, landing playlist placements, earning press coverage and building toward their sophomore album, Rev It Up.

Rev It Up shows the full range of Divergent’s musical identity. Their influences stretch from the Beatles to Queen, Whitesnake, Kansas and Boston, with a strong current of classic ’70s rock running through the record. Rock and roll is the foundation, but the band has never been interested in locking itself into one version of it.

“Even though I write all the songs for Divergent, most people won’t know the important role Paul and Mike played in curating the final list of songs on our Rev It Up album,” James says. “We demoed about 30 songs for the album and, as the songwriter, I love them all, so it’s difficult for me to choose the best songs. As experienced and talented musicians, Paul and Mike helped us narrow the album down to the final eight tracks. It’s deliberately a team effort, and I highly value their input and contributions to deciding which tracks ended up on the album.”

That collaborative process carries into the recordings themselves, with each member shaping the material. The title track puts one of the band’s obsessions front and center: muscle cars. “Rev It Up” pairs hard rock with speed, horsepower, and the idea of living fast and getting as much out of life as possible.

Elsewhere, “I Really Want To Love You So Bad” steps away from that hard-rock charge, leaning into piano, bass, cymbal-heavy drums and a more soulful sense of romantic longing. “Give Her Love” takes a darker turn, following a woman trapped in an abusive relationship, while “Out of Love” flips the theme entirely with what James calls an “anti-love song.” Produced by Jason Peets at legendary Sweetwater Studios in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the track follows a wealthy narrator cycling through desire, excess, and escape rather than commitment.

Those four songs all arrived ahead of the album and have generated more than 60,000 Spotify plays, with visuals accompanying each release.

Divergent is having its biggest moment yet, and embracing every minute of it. With Rev It Up now out, the three longtime friends are following the same principle that brought the band together in the first place: make the music they want to make, follow it wherever it goes, and keep rock and roll at the center.

More Divergent on their website
Listen to “Rev It Up” Here

Andrew Gesner
HIP Video Promo
+1 732-613-1779
info@hipvideopromo.com

Media gallery