Deftones Album: “Deftones”

Deftones' self titled release "Deftones" can probably be seen as a stepping stone by a band that is continually on an upward accent to what will surely become rock musical greatness.

As a fan of the band since "Around the Fur" was released it is plainly obvious that each album they release is better than the one prior to it, which means "Deftones" is probably thier best album yet, but thier next release will probably be even better.

Not only have the band improved thier songwriting on this album, they have also developed a keen set of ears for audio production too.The album sounds amazing and has a higher quality than thier previous albums, the songs are more simple and heavy, yet more complicated musically.

Chino Moreno's vocals are more high pitched and vocally intense than on any previous albums, and Abe Cunningham's drums are somewhat less busy, yet harder hitting than before.

Clearly a very Heavy ,bitter ,poisonous and intense album, some fans might not like it, but a lot more will love it.

This is my favorite Deftones album, even including their latest release Saturday Night Wrist. With white pony, it was clear that Chino took the reins & steered the band in a new direction with great results. What we have here is Stephen taking the reins back & putting his stamp on the new direction, adding more blistering guitars & earth shattering riffs to the layered sounds of the rest of the band. This is the heaviest Deftones album (Around the Fur is a close 2nd) & I think it turned off some fans. There is not one bad song on this & there is a very eclectic mix of songs here, more so than White Pony. If you are a Deftones fan, this album is essential.

I'll try to do my best on this review - it's very important to do this after DEFTONES - their selfnamed album.

It's like a line finalizing their 8 years of playing on the world scene... playing alone, their individual style with a very few followers who failed to reach that level of quality...

It's not as Art-Chaotic as "Adrenaline", not as Agressivly-Beautiful as "Around The Fur", not as Experimentally-Awsome as "White Pony" - it's all the Experience and Heaviness of the band put in one small CDbox. From album to album Deftones improve their style of music fully changing the sound of their songs... You know what's the trouble with all new nu-metal bands? Their second albums are the same and not as fresh as their debuts - no fantasy, no hard-working, no experience - only ambitions... That's why i respect Deftones - no filler songs, all the albums are complete pieces of Art, with their own style and meaning.

Back to the album, i'd say, the first time i heard it i was more than just dissapointed as always happenes when you hear their new stuff - no more old Deftones - everything moves forward, nothing stays... Album is heavier than ever - all the hardest songs are here, my boys - there's my overview on them:

HEXAGRAM (10/10) - A very very solid song - IMHO one of the best Deftones have ever created. Awsome guitars, very strong vocal (Chino screams like he had lost something, his voice is really stressful)

NEEDLES AND PINS (8/10) - Very heavy, solid and mostly similar to their old songs... Nothing special, just Deftones.

MINERVA (7,5/10) - Single, nothing to say, IMHO far not their best work...

GOOD MORNING BEAUTIFUL (10/10) - Do you remember KOREA with its' boring beginning and then totally knocking rush from 1:47 until end? So that's the song with same surprise - until 1:47 you don't get the point of song when after the timetick you become amazed with the combination of very strong guitars and vocal...

DEATHBLOW (9/10) - More disturbing than depressive, it opens with a smooth and light guitar tabs continuing with flowing from smooth vocals to guitars and back...

WHEN GIRLS TELEPHONE BOYS (10/10) - Probably the hardest work of Deftones... It rushes from the beginning when Chino is trying to overscream the background music... The song is fully built on this emotional combo of Chinos' and guitars' screams. Firstly you just hear it like some noise distortion, then you dig in and get away with the agression. I repeat - there's no harder song from Deftones ever released than this one

BATTLE-AXE (9/10) - Nothing special about singing - i gave it 9 for some very serious riffs made by their guitarist - it's something you need to hear at least once. Though it gets annoying with time

LUCKY YOU (9,5/10) - Very strange, not-typical for Deftones kind of song, feels like vocals are stretching the song as it's possible, giving somekind of a great effect while listening...

BLOODY CAPE (8/10) - Fast guitars, agressive style of song makes it just another good piece of Deftones - it's good but not as good as the others...

ANNIVERSARY OF AN UNINTERESTING EVENT (10/10) - Very depressive, beautiful song filled with rare for Chino calm vocals...

MOANA (7/10) - Just a hard piece, always reminds me DAMONE somehow (another final track from their second album)

Overall, the sound of group has changed - now it's harder than ever rushing through your head like an explosion, offering you as many emotions as never before... Lyrics consist of impressions - you won't find deep meanings, don't even give a try, you won't find them, just enjoy this Deftomenal Rush of experience...

I just picked up the cd today. First off there's 11 songs on it, Minerva and Bloody Cape seemed to have been left off the list on Amazon. I had only heard Lucky You from the Matrix Reloaded soundtrack and was quite suprised by the rest of the album. Unlike the ethereal White Pony, Deftones is much darker. Chino gives a very emotional and brooding preformance, personal favourite are "Needles and Pins", "Deathblow" and "Minerva". "When Girls Telephone Boys" is alot like old Deftones, but the rest of the cd is a progression from White Pony. The guitar is very catchy and Carpenter has come up with some of his best work yet; Delgados is incredible especially on "Lucky You"; Cheng provides a great atmosphere; and Cunningham creates great beats and drumming very enjoyable to pick apart. The track that really suprised me was "Anniversary of an Uninteresting Event" though, I'm not sure what to say about it. It's different from other Deftones songs and sounds very New Age, yet distinctly Deftones. This cd is better than White Pony and like all their albums is a progression from the last one.

"Deftones" is a huge step forward for the band. I think the album has been unfairly compared to their older work, however it stands well on its own. Chino's vocals are consistently strong on all of the songs. Carpenter's guitar work is excellent as well, the seven-string comes through really well. I can easily see why this album would alienate fans of their earlier work, nonetheless I believe they deserve much respect for successfully dodging the nu-metal label. "Deftones" is a progressive, powerful and emotional compelling album that I would highly recommend to most anyone.