| Adrenaline | review #2 | 1995 |
| Around The Fur | 1997 |
| White Pony | 2000 |
A hardcore-sounding metal-punk-hip hop hybrid, the Deftones are in the same vein as bands like Korn (who call them their "brother band"), but their music is actually a bit more intense, with a truly terrifying vocalist in Chino Moreno (one that can go from unsettling whispers to horrifying screams), guitarist Stephen Carpenter offers simple, but direct and scathing riffs, that perfectly match this style, while the rhythm section is as tight and totally into the groove as any band playing today.
Their debut album Adrenaline and its' brutal songs is more than the best example of their style, it shoves pure rage into your face with its' obnoxious (and sometimes unintelligible) lyrics and attitude, and is one of the most positively convincing albums of the 90s, while the follow up Around The Fur wasn't quite as consistently powerful, but still built on their style with a bit more maturity, although even its' quieter moments hinted at extreme viciousness. They followed that one with their third album White Pony, which was a more focused and provided further insight into Chino's 'psycho' nature.
--Nick Karn
Post your comments about the Deftones
COMMENTS
Actually, if i'm not mistaken, Max "The Throat" Cavalera does most of the horrifying screaming on Around the Fur. Thats not to say Chino is a bad vocalist per se, but Max should be the one getting credit for those unreal screams. Dear God, does he scream. One of these days he's gonna wake up with his lungs next to him on his pillow.
(Nick Karn's review)
After first hearing excellent things about the Deftones debut by word of mouth from a group of Korn fans, I gave this record a shot, and after the first couple of listens, it sounded to me like extremely unvaried guitar riffing, weak melody and talentless screaming. But after awhile, Adrenaline opens up and reveals its' strengths as a very heavy, direct, and emotionally powerful offering. Lead vocalist Chino Moreno of course is the band's secret weapon, a vocalist with great range that definitely does not have a one-dimensional screaming voice (as earth-shattering as it may be) while Stephen Carpenter creates obviously direct (but somehow unique sounding) riffs like the chugging opener "Bored", where the power of the band's chemistry comes together in a forceful mix, produced well by Terry Date.
"Nosebleed" is a very harsh tune with truly angry and scathing, explicitly profane lyrics and hardcore energy in the music that somehow doesn't come off as merely juvenile, but as a genuine threat, and it's contrasted by a slower middle section that builds up again to the heavier verse part, all with the band remaining tight. "Minus Blindfold" is also an indicator that Chino is one to watch out for (or stay the hell away from, depending on your point of view) "Root", meanwhile, hints that the band is capable of expanding its' creativity before this direct material could become stale in the future, featuring the most complex riff on the album and almost Jane's Addiction-like energy.
The quieter moments, "One Weak" (with nice bass work and frantic vocals), the closer "Fireal" (featuring a dark and desperate atmosphere before building up to a gripping ending), and "Birthmark" are also solid songs, but "7 Words" is perhaps the absolute sonic highlight of the album, an amazing wake up call that starts off quietly with the controlled vocals in the verses (helped out by an awesome bassline) before again going into unparalleled heavy viciousness. "Engine No. 9" shows a bit of a hip hop influence in the lyrics, which makes the attitude and the screaming chorus even more effective and noticeably psycho. Adrenaline isn't for everyone of course, as there is quite a bit of an obnoxious feel to it that may turn a few listeners off, and the songwriting doesn't quite sound developed to its' full potential, but for classic aggression, this is an excellent place to start.
This album is an old favorite of mine. In fact, it's probably one of the first few CDs I ever bought. I had no idea the influence it was having on popular music at the time, but it's quite apparent now. Turn on your local modern rock radio and you're bound to hear tons of bands playing music directly influenced by this album. Of course, modern rock has a bad reputation, particularly modern metal. Since the Deftones are one of the fathers of modern metal, and since this is their debut album, it's not always held in high regard by metal fans. Too often, the Deftones are considered just another generic, trend-hopping "rap-metal" band. The truth is, the Deftones are anything but copycats, the band has been doing this since 1989! Quite frankly, I don't see why any fan of hard music would dislike the Deftones, especially Adrenaline.
Why? Well, Adrenaline is a hard-edged, raw, and just plain insane piece of music. Rage comes crashing through the speakers for the entire 40+ minutes of the disc. Yet it does not sound fake, you may not be able to understand exactly what Chino is screaming about, but you can tell he's pissed about something. As a metal fan, this is the kind of stuff I dream about. There is some subtlety here, however. The band inserts several softer, more haunting sections in the songs to contrast with the aggression. Is this foreshadowing? Perhaps.
Of course, this IS a debut, and it shows. It often sounds underdeveloped, the production is quite raw, and the band is not as "mature" sounding as they would be on later releases. Yet that's part of the fun, the reckless intensity displayed here is something they haven't quite captured again since (not that they're trying to). Not to mention that this record has incredible staying power. The Deftones aren't usually considered a band of great melody-writing power, but listen to the excellent riff of "Bored" or the haunting vocals of "One Weak" and tell me that stuff won't stick in your head for a long time to come. So is it a masterpiece? Not by a long shot, but it's essential nonetheless. Try to forget those new-metal biases, and you'll have a hell of a time.
Post your comments / reviews for this album
(reviewed by Nick Karn)
The brutal opening song and first single "My Own Summer (Shove It)" (also showcasing a talent for melody creeping in that wasn't previously evident on the debut) perfectly sets the tone for the Deftones' second album Around The Fur, one not quite as aggressive and intense as their first, but the attitude is also not as obnoxious and the songs tend to be more personal and the songwriting seems to be a bit more mature, although Chino Moreno continues to astonish with a vocal performance that very much sounds like he's out to kill someone.
What's also impressive about this release is that here they never sound like anything less than a top-notch, energetic live band, which is somewhat refreshing. Around The Fur offers much in the department of speaker-blasting hardcore anthems that are usually as effective as before, as the total mosh-pit force of "Headup" (with some nice guest guitar by former Sepultura member Max Cavalera), the title track featuring intriguing lyrics as well as vocals and backing music with a violent edge, and the great vocal delivery and the spitfire riff of "Ricketts" are almost impossible to ignore. The band also sounds like they could be a fairly catchy one in another single, "Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away)", which actually has more of a focus on hook (which isn't really their forte at this point) than it does intensity, and is successful because of it.
It's probably even more apparent in the quieter songs, "Mascara" (a slow, metallic, and dramatic distortion-built ballad) and" MX" (the brutal closer whose verses are actually built on a "duet" with someone special Chino's talking to on the phone, but the line 'shove her over railing' has some pretty heavy emotional weight here), that the Deftones considerable power is a force to be reckoned with. Although the lyrics are pretty hard to understand, the emotional content and unbelievable delivery of the vocals makes up for it, although not as much as the debut on account of the material not being consistently as strong (the songs "Lotion", "Lhabia" and "Dai The Flu" are noticeably weaker and more unintelligible than the others). With Around The Fur, though, the Deftones have built on a style that is very much their own, and the album suggests even better things to come.
Post your comments / reviews for this album
(reviewed by Nick Karn)
The Deftones' third album moves them even further away from association with the increasingly iffy 'new metal' genre featuring successful bands like Korn, Limp Bizkit, and Sevendust, and more tired contemporaries like Staind, P.O.D. and Coal Chamber by going for a more hardcore style that's more influenced by classic alternative than hip hop. The aspects of White Pony that come through the most, though, are Chino Moreno's more effective attempts at singing rather than screaming and expanding his already intimidating vocal range even further, as well as more noticeable lyrics, which are printed out more clearly, giving the listener an even better glimpse into what often seems like the random ravings of a complete psycho, which makes the songs that much more effective.
Of course, the band still doesn't have an overwhelming grasp of melody, and that's apparent in the three rather rudimentary weakest cuts, which are nevertheless still memorable for the various vocal approaches to each one - the opening "Feiticeira" comes through like an air raid siren blast, "Korea" is a furious screamfast, and the 7 minute closer "Pink Maggitt", despite its' extremely slow pace in the first half, picks up to a more dramatic end. The hooks and riffs are still stronger than before, though, most notably on the hard-hitting, engaging riff and chorus of "Knife Prty" (no, that's not a typo), which also features effective wailing female vocals at the bridge, and lead single "Change", which is the closest the band has come thus far to a memorable melodic rock song.
There are several other excellent songs that showcase this album's best qualities as well, including the gorgeous acoustic ballad "Teenager", which is also driven by a trance-like drum machine beat and soothing vocals, worthy of the best mellow Smashing Pumpkins stuff, the dreamy but at the same time haunting guitar tone in the verses of "Digital Bath" (which later switches to a chorus of soaring vocal yells), the intense relationship number "Street Carp", the memorable indie rock chorus and engaging beat to "RX Queen", the bloody riff-heavy verse and robotic chorus of "Elite", and the top highlight, "Passenger", which brings in the guest vocal of Maynard James Keenan from Tool (who also co-wrote it) for a stunning verse duet between two top singing talents, and a powerful Maynard sung chorus to go with a positively eerie vibe to the music. In all, this album isn't quite as bludgeoning in its' shattering impact as Adrenaline, but it is quite a worthy addition to an increasingly impressive catalog of material from the band.
Post your comments / reviews for this album
COMMENTS
Good stuff. Possibly their best, I don't know. It's all very moody, haunting stuff, but luckily not at all an abandonment of guitar-driven rock. 9/10.