There was a time, back when I was 18 and completely enamored with bands like Tool, Sevendust, Limp Bizkit (their first album is good, and I'll defend that opinion), and Soulfly, that I discovered a new musical love. The band was called the Deftones, and there was something about their sophomore effort, Around the Fur, that just spoke to me. Maybe it was the pent up rage and aggression. Or maybe it was just the fact that I was angry and depressed and needed something to scream along with. Either way, I loved that CD to death. Oddly enough, I never did pick up their debut, Adrenaline. Not sure why, although I'm sure it had more to do with wanting too many CDs on too little cash.

By the time the band released their third album, 2000's White Pony, I had pretty much lost interest in them. It was in 2000 where I spent a lot of time re-connecting with bands from my younger years, bands like Bon Jovi, U2, and Pearl Jam. I had no doubt that White Pony was worth every bit of critical gold it struck, I just...didn't really have much of an interest in hearing it. Maybe Deftones just reminded me of a sad time in my life or something and I didn't feel able to deal with it, I dunno.

So it is probably no surprise that when the band released their self titled fourth album a couple months back, I barely looked at it. I noticed the cover art and thought it was cool, but basically, I was indifferent. "Oh, Deftones have a new album out, that's right. That new song of theirs is pretty cool. What else came out this week?"

But a couple of weeks ago, something happened. I was looking for some new rock music. Rock music that had an edge, that could blow me away sonically. I looked through some stuff at the library and I basically came up with nothing. And then I came across the same Deftones album I had all but ignored two months prior. And I'm glad I did.

If Godsmack is heavy metal's dumbest band (oooo, I like that title), and Tool is heavy metal's smartest, Deftones might be heavy metal's smartest alternative to Tool. That is, if you find yourself bored with Tool and their 8 minute epics, Deftones might be right up your alley.

Lead vocalist Chino Moreno has one of the best voices in rock today, as he deftly moves from a near whisper to a scream, and does it so well that it sounds as natural as could be. Moreno is the focle point of the Deftones, and this album proves that simple fact yet again.

The first single, Minerva is a wailing mix of swirling guitars and Moreno's own hopeful vocals. There's something decidedly Cult-like as well in the chorus, where Moreno sings with passion "So God bless you all for the song you saved us...for the hearts you break everytime you moan." It's probably the most poppy I've ever heard the Deftones be (again, I've never heard White Pony so I have no idea if there's something with as good a hook as this on there), but the hook is undeniable.

While Minerva rocks in a decidedly and comparitively lightweight way, many of the other tracks on this disc don't hold much back. In particular, I gravitate towards Bloody Cape, with it's pulsating rhythms and grinding guitars. This is most pit metal twice as good as Disturbed and Godsmack, mostly thanks to the almost "wall of sound" like production values.

Far from being just mindless headbangers, the band also brings some experimentation and much welcomed diversity to the table. The band works the loud/soft dynamic to near perfection on Deathblow, which has some great bass work from Chi. Anniversary of an Uninteresting Event is haunting, thanks to Moreno's vocals and the dark feel of the music, which is sparse, basically a piano, bass and drums, with a tad of guitar thrown in here and there.

The band takes the tension that is built up in the previously mentioned Anniversary, and builds it up a bit more in the intro to the closing Moana, before letting it out bit by bit over the last 4 minutes or so of the album.

While the album is very good, there are a couple of tracks that need to be ripped apart. The album opening Hexagram is so awful, only a Slipknot fan could love this. I can deal with a bit of screaming, hell, I like some screaming, but this song is mindless as can be, and not in the GOOD mindless way of the previously mentioned Bloody Cape. Yes Chino, we know you can scream like a motherf*cker, now please return me to my regularly scheduled Deftones programming. The track that immediately follows, Needles and Pins, is quite impressive lyrically, but musically it sounds like a retread of some of the material on Around the Fur. The same could be said for Battle-Axe.

While I prefer Around the Fur to this disc, I still really enjoy this disc as well. Having only heard about the band's experimentation on White Pony, I wasn't really sure what to expect here. What I got was a satisfying mix of hard rock and experimentation, a diversity that most hard rock bands today seemingly thumb their nose at. I give this disc 4 stars, and a hearty recommendation.

If you liked this, you might want to check out:
Tool-Lateralus

System of a Down-Toxicity

Korn-Korn

If you hated this, then maybe these would be more up your alley:

Godsmack-Faceless

Disturbed-Believe









Recommended: Yes