Largely considered one of the originators of the Nu-Metal movement, Deftones hail from Sacramento, CA. Forming their collective in 1994 with core members, Chino Moreno (vocals, guitar), Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Abe Cunningham (drums), Chi Cheng (bass), and later, Frank Delgado (turntables/keyboards), Deftones embarked on what initially seemed to be an exercise in Nu-Metal/Punk/Hip-Hop fury to what has largely morphed into a blood-letting amalgamation of ethereal and visceral rock melodies, punctuated by sledgehammer riffs, jack hammer beats, and mature self-reflective lyrical stylings.

It’s Halloween, October 31, 2006 and Deftones release their fifth full-length installment, Saturday Night Wrist (Maverick). As with nearly all Deftone releases, there is a departure here – Deftones have opted to produce the album with Bob Ezrin (Kiss, Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel), and not their longtime collaborator, Terry Date (Soundgarden, White Zombie, Fishbone, Limp Bizkit). The result is a highly melodic, accessible offering that finds vocalist Moreno at his best, and the band precariously toting the line between Radio Rock, head banging Metal, Radiohead-esque Trip-Hop, and Art Rock… an eerie mix indeed when delivered with the patented Deftone angst.

The first single, “Hole in the Earth”, is superb and shows Deftones at their radio-friendly (yet “deftly” heavy) best, replete with a killer hook. Another beautiful selection is “Beware”, as it begins in a pool of low-end guitar feedback and slick keyboard anxiety before it blows wide open. The left-field offerings are still here as well: “U, U, D, D, L, R, L, R, A, B, Select, Start” (a Konami video game reference?) is a meditative, instrumental Art Rock journey with enough reverb to fill an arena. The oddly seductive, “Pink Cell Phone”, (with female vocals) is a sparse mix of Trip-Hop, Rock… and dare I say it… Enya - that is until we get to the x-rated babble at the end. The heavies here are, “Rapture”, “Combat”, “Rats! Rats! Rats!”, and “Kimdracula”, with “Kimdracula” bringing, “Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)”, to mind.

Once again, it is most evident that Deftones have the uncanny ability to stay in the “dark”, even when at they are most accessible in the “light”. Whether you love them or hate them, one thing is for sure: It’s almost impossible to predict what the Deftones will do next because they aren’t afraid to challenge themselves or their audiences… Maybe we shouldn’t be afraid either.

Here is a brief history of the band to date:

Deftones began in relatively humble Northern California surroundings circa 1988, and their classic Metal/Punk/Hip-Hop influenced, Adrenaline (Maverick, 1995) although brilliant as it was, met moderate success where critics were concerned. The Adrenaline singles, “Bored”, and, “7 Words”, however, helped put them on the map in underground circles. Perhaps it was the unapologetically aggressive delivery of Moreno’s wailing that the masses couldn’t quite digest, but that of course earned him a special place in the hearts of true Metal-Heads.

Around the Fur (Maverick, 1997) was yet another classic for the band that saw them mature and escape the dreaded “sophomore jinx”. With Around the Fur, it was clear that Deftones were the real deal as they dealt a flawlessly cohesive mix of brooding, cathartic, and passionate compositions for a new breed of listeners. Two songs from the album made it into movie soundtracks: The Matrix (1999) released “My Own Summer (Shove It)”, and Manic (2000) released “Headup”, with Max Cavalera (former front man of Sepultura). In addition to the single success of “My Own Summer (Shove It), “Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)”, was also a hit.

Not only did Around the Fur establish Deftones as a collective, it also clearly conveyed the precision and skill that Abe Cunningham possessed on drums. His hard-hitting, yet polyrhythmic approach to the songs helped anchor the group and separate them from the many, often stale, Nu-Metal posers that saturated the late nineties and early two-thousands.

Every band has a turning point in their career, whether good or bad, that shapes them forever, for Deftones it was their White Pony (Maverick, 2000), release that catapulted them into stardom, and made them a Metal music household name. Their Grammy for the single “Elite”, and the multi-platinum status of White Pony, sealed the deal. To date, this was critically and commercially the most successful Deftone release. At the same time, however, Deftones began to make a departure from simply being a “Metal Band”. This perhaps alienated Metal-Heads who were not ready for them to expand their musical palette.

White Pony, conveyed a true sense of maturation for the band. Moreno sang solid melodies, electronics (via Delgado), permeated the mix to offer atmospheric Trip-Hop textures, and along side pounding riffs stood Art Rock ballads that were just as powerful albeit more pensive. And, although this album was embraced by the masses, it was obvious that Deftones were just as at home playing outside the box as this release also contained some pioneering compositions for that genre, i.e. “Teenager”, and “Pink Maggit” (it’s no wonder that Moreno, came out with an Art Rock/Trip-Hop side project called, Team Sleep (Team Sleep Maverick 2005)). This White Pony release was the quintessential balance of accessible songwriting and emotive tonality. “Change (In the House of Flies)”, and Digital Bath”, were the hit singles, with “Change (In the House of Flies)”, appearing on the Queen of the Damned (2002) soundtrack.

The tremendous success of White Pony, had fans eager for their next full-length.

In 2003 Deftones came roaring back with Deftones, a self-titled release which sold 167,000 copies in its first week. If there was any question as to whether Deftones had lost their edge, this album screamed a resounding “No”. Penned mostly by guitarist Carpenter, this album largely shows Deftones getting back to their Metal roots by delivering concrete blasted, earth-scorching riffs, and brutal rhythmic motives. Here, the songs are tighter, and with less atmospherics (with the exception of “Lucky You”, a Trip-Hop excursion which made it on The Matrix Reloaded (2003) soundtrack). Despite this focused aggression of the music, Moreno still manages (on some songs) to sing melodies and doesn’t sacrifice any power as there is a sense of seductive insanity to his delivery. On other selections, i.e. “When Girls Telephone Boys”, he barks, harking back to the days of Adrenaline.

“Minerva”, the first single was quite “soft” compared to their second single, “Hexagram”, which was more representative of the rest of the album. Some critics bemoaned them for embracing their Metal roots again, feeling that they had abandoned what made them great with this nihilistic release.

by Cazembe Abena

Discography
1. Adrenaline Maverick (1995) Producers: Deftones, Terry Date
2. Around the Fur Maverick (1997) Producers: Deftones, Terry Date
3. White Pony Maverick (2000) Producers: Terry Date, Deftones
4. Deftones Maverick (2003) Producers: Deftones, Terry Date
5. B-Sides & Rarities Maverick (2005)
6. Saturday Night Wrist Maverick (2006) Producers: Bob Ezrin, Deftones, Shaun Lopez