I'm a late comer to the Deftones. I knew they existed, I knew they had a huge fanbase, but I was too busy traveling off the beaten path of music to pay much attention. It wasn't until last year that I decided to take the plunge, finally free of my anti-mainstream mindset, and open to anything. I'm very glad I did.
Chino Moreno is a name spoken with reverence in circles you wouldn't expect a metal band to even be known in. With his voice and the talented musicians adding the atmosphere behind it, Deftones became a household name in an era in desperate need of inspiration. While the Deftones will never be faulted for being 'too positive', they hit home with so many people on a level that is hard to reach. If you've never listened to the Deftones, or are only a casual fan, here is the breakdown off all their albums and what they have to offer.
01. Deftones - White Pony (2000)
I know most people don't need to be sold on White Pony, it is a genre defining album that is beloved by everyone who was lucky enough to grow up with it, and deservedly so. White Pony is the ultimate "high school rage" album mixed with a level of maturity that you simply don't have at that age. There is no doubt that White Pony was the soundtrack to many troubled kids' lives and I have to admit to falling in love with it years after it's release just as quickly as those lucky few who grabbed the first copies did.
White Pony picks up where Around The Fur left off, a difficult task in itself, but then goes the extra step to improve on essentially everything Around The Fur accomplished. When you have an album that is already an instant classic and follow it up with an album that is this much better, you are either incredibly lucky or amazingly talented. History has proven the later but the former is certainly true too. White Pony was relevant when it was released, is still relevant today, and will be relevant 100 years from now. Not many people think of the last 20 years as a time period that has created "classics" but that is only because they don't want to let go of the '60s and '70s. Time has rolled on, music has changed with it, and White Pony is a shining example of an entire era.
Recommended Tracks: Change [In The House Of Flies], Digital Bath
02. Deftones - Diamond Eyes (2010)
The battleground is officially set. Is Diamond Eyes the best Deftones album of all time? The album flows well, nearly every song is a hit, and everyone has been absolutely blown away. Diamond Eyes is the album that cements Deftones as one of the greatest bands not just of our time but in known history. A lot of bands come back with a firey spirit, giving their fans a bunch of nostaglia, and everyone saying "they're back!" because they've been handed another dose of the sound they loved so long ago.
That isn't the case with Diamond Eyes. Not at all.
White Pony and Diamond Eyes are dramatically different pieces of work. White Pony is controlled chaos while Diamond Eyes is very deliberate. White Pony is full of youthful spirit while Diamond Eyes comes from a clearer mind. White Pony is the beginning of the party while Diamond Eyes is the night cap. White Pony has you chanting along while Diamond Eyes leaves you with mouth agape.
This is Deftones perfecting their craft. Hitting on all cylinders and leaving nothing to be desired. Individual song wise, I think Diamond Eyes is the best Deftones album of all time. Nothing leaves you kind of craning your neck trying to decide whether you like it or if you just like everything else around it so much that you're willing to let it pass. Any song off of Diamond Eyes is worth listening to. However, it is funny how sometimes the right time and the right place matters more than overall quality. White Pony is an exceptional album, an exceptional album that created many of the Deftones fans who proceeded to be blown away by Diamond Eyes, and the cultural significance of White Pony is undeniable. While Diamond Eyes isn't likely to ever be remembered with the fondness of it's powerful predecessor, it can rest easy knowing that time will remember it as a can't miss classic and the greatest of it's kind.
Recommended Tracks: 976-Evil, This Place Is Death
03. Team Sleep - Team Sleep (2005)
Are the Deftones dead? Is this Chino Moreno's swan song? So much controversy and tension existed around this time period among Deftones fans that you would have thought that the band everyone loved never would have set foot in a room with one another ever again. Was everything a little overblown during this time period? Undoubtedly. Did Chino ignore all of the overzealous fanboys/girls and release a unique, mind blowingly relaxing album in it's wake? Oh yes, he did.
While this isn't a Deftones album, it is a spiritual extension of the band, as Team Sleep is essentially Deftones without the heaviness. And it works, it works so incredibly well I don't think anyone could have anticipated it. Team Sleep is how I was introduced to Chino's work, an experience I feared would be ruined by listening to the more 'extreme' Deftones, so for a very long time I treasured this gem without ever listening to a Deftones song. How pleasantly surprised I was when I finally made the jump, but I will always have fond memories of Team Sleep. This album helped shape my view away from "all metal, all the time" to a much broader and accepting mindset. If you're a Deftones fan that somehow managed to miss out on Team Sleep, track it down. You'll be happy you did.
Recommended Tracks: Ataraxia, Elizabeth
04. Deftones - Koi No Yokan (2012)
Following up White Pony was a deathblow to Deftones' self titled album and Koi No Yokan had to follow in the footsteps of the equally beloved Diamond Eyes. With great excitement and equally great fears, Deftones fans plunged into the newest Deftones album. Their eyes widened, bright and full of love, as they realized Deftones was returning with a similar sound to Diamond Eyes and an album packed full of more great material.
Re-inventing a band that was popular with a younger generation as the band unavoidably grows older is an issue every group under the sun has had to contend with. Instead of trying to grind on the same old wheel, Deftones instead decided to appeal to an older audience while still producing a sound that even younger music listeners will appreciate. Koi No Yokan is yet another technical marvel, taking the listener on a journey from beginning to end in the first seamless listen since White Pony. In fact, Koi No Yokan is possibly the easiest album to just sit down and enjoy. No prerequisites, no age stipulations, nothing but an enjoyment of music is necessary.
Romantic Dreams is the song that finally got me to dabble in the Deftones and Koi No Yokan is the first album of theirs that I owned. I have to say I couldn't have asked for a better starting point and so many of my other favorite bands took a long backseat ride while I became absorbed by all that Deftones had to offer. Koi No Yokan does not disappoint and, if you've also never heard a Deftones album before, I'll recommend this as the place to jump in. If you like this album then you are in for so, so much more as you explore everything else the band has done.
Recommended Tracks: Romantic Dreams, Entombed
05. Deftones - Around The Fur (1997)
Equal parts brilliant and chaotic, Around The Fur is the clear starting point of the infamous Deftones sound. Bouncing between moments of intensity, sincerity, sexuality, and beauty in seamless fashion is an accomplishment all unto itself but the great quality of songwriting throughout the entire album is what launches it even further into the stratosphere. Around The Fur can be listened to in parts and still be enjoyable but it's real accomplishment is how it all comes together when listened to from beginning to end. The same fast tempo and raw emotion permeates the entire experience, blending all of the songs together while still keeping each of them immediately identifiable.
While later albums have split Deftones fans into very distinct groups, there is definitely something to be said for being the first on the scene, and Around The Fur was the first album that blew everyone's minds. Everyone had heard heavy music with some catchy breakdowns but no one had heard two emotional extremes share space so naturally before. Chino's screams are terrifying and his singing voice is genuinely soothing, not to mention all the tones in between that add credence to the band's name choice. If you love music and love hearing standout examples of what music can be, you shouldn't miss out on this album.
Recommended Tracks: Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away), Dai The Flu
06. Deftones - Saturday Night Wrist (2006)
Everyone put on your judgment hats, Deftones are back. Oh, and they've changed again. I know...I KNOW! How could they? HOW DARE THEY? This is so different! So WEIRD! Why would they ever release something like this? O-M-G!
Calm down. Listen. Yes, this album is a lot more airy and, on the whole, a lot less aggressive than earlier Deftones albums. It does not, however, completely eliminate the aggression, it just explores a completely different vibe, one I think works. There is a lot of really good material on Saturday Night Wrist, numerous 'favorite songs' people have within the Deftones discography, and yet so many people HATE this album. I can kind of see it, the album is very bi-polar with it's sound and can be difficult to listen to from beginning to end. This isn't likely to be background music as it really demands your attention but there are so many strange changes of direction that many listeners become put off.
No problem. Everyone has different tastes in music and not everything is accessible but there is no denying the good that Saturday Night Wrist brought with it. There are songs with minimal and no screaming (in fact, these make up the majority of the album) that are exceptional. The best the Deftones have ever produced. But yes, on the whole, Saturday Night Wrist doesn't really flow well together which is why it tends to be a bit of a forgotten relic when compared to the rest of the Deftones discography. But this was an important transition point, the transition that led to the classics that would follow it.
Recommended Tracks: Cherry Waves, Kimdracula
07. Deftones - Deftones (2003)
Deftones' self-titled album is that kid that gets picked on because, while it is still exceptional compared to most, it isn't as cool as it's older cousins. There are people that genuinely believe this album killed the band. Stone cold dead. But nothing could be further from the truth. The self-titled album marked a change in sound for the band, something that shouldn't have come as too surprising after the drastic sound shift from Adrenaline to Around The Fur and the change this time around isn't even that dramatic. The problem is that this isn't Around The Fur and it isn't White Pony, at least in the eyes of far too many.
I'm not saying their self-titled album is as good as those albums, it objectively isn't, but it certainly has enough material that can make an honest claim to being close. The major difference is that the songs have been rather clearly defined rather than feeling like a stream of consciousness. Heavy songs are heavy, light songs are light, and anything that is supposed to be somewhere in between is just somewhere in between. The dramatic shifts don't happen as often during individual songs but are certainly still present on the album as a whole. The best songs on the self-titled album stand up to the best songs on any of their other albums, it is just that much of the rest isn't as accessible and therefore earned the scorn of public opinion. A shame.
Recommended Tracks: Good Morning Beautiful, Battle-axe
08. Deftones - Adrenaline (1995)
Every band has a beginning, that first swing at the unknown spaces to see if they can make any connection at all. Like anyone starting out in life there is no telling what will happen once they mature and Adrenaline is a perfect example of this. There is no hint that the Deftones will become one of the most widely adored metal bands of all time, none of the elaborately designed textures that helped push them that extra mile to stardom, just a good bit of aggression and disappointment with life.
While Adrenaline doesn't have a lot of memorable tracks, the few that are have survived the test of time, being just as intense and fistpumping as ever. The common theme of clawing through the dredges of society and having all this free time to waste on nothing is definitely relatable. I can see why Adrenaline is so fondly remembered by those who grabbed it upon it's release. There is a certain level of honesty and rawness on Adrenaline that was a bit rarer in the time period it was released but was clearly a major influence on the late-90s, early 00s rise of bands like Slipknot, Mudvayne, and the "Nu-Metal" scene in general. A must-have for fans but likely nothing that will excite a casual listener too much.
Recommended Tracks: 7 Words, Engine No. 9
Chino Moreno is a name spoken with reverence in circles you wouldn't expect a metal band to even be known in. With his voice and the talented musicians adding the atmosphere behind it, Deftones became a household name in an era in desperate need of inspiration. While the Deftones will never be faulted for being 'too positive', they hit home with so many people on a level that is hard to reach. If you've never listened to the Deftones, or are only a casual fan, here is the breakdown off all their albums and what they have to offer.
01. Deftones - White Pony (2000)
I know most people don't need to be sold on White Pony, it is a genre defining album that is beloved by everyone who was lucky enough to grow up with it, and deservedly so. White Pony is the ultimate "high school rage" album mixed with a level of maturity that you simply don't have at that age. There is no doubt that White Pony was the soundtrack to many troubled kids' lives and I have to admit to falling in love with it years after it's release just as quickly as those lucky few who grabbed the first copies did.
White Pony picks up where Around The Fur left off, a difficult task in itself, but then goes the extra step to improve on essentially everything Around The Fur accomplished. When you have an album that is already an instant classic and follow it up with an album that is this much better, you are either incredibly lucky or amazingly talented. History has proven the later but the former is certainly true too. White Pony was relevant when it was released, is still relevant today, and will be relevant 100 years from now. Not many people think of the last 20 years as a time period that has created "classics" but that is only because they don't want to let go of the '60s and '70s. Time has rolled on, music has changed with it, and White Pony is a shining example of an entire era.
Recommended Tracks: Change [In The House Of Flies], Digital Bath
02. Deftones - Diamond Eyes (2010)
The battleground is officially set. Is Diamond Eyes the best Deftones album of all time? The album flows well, nearly every song is a hit, and everyone has been absolutely blown away. Diamond Eyes is the album that cements Deftones as one of the greatest bands not just of our time but in known history. A lot of bands come back with a firey spirit, giving their fans a bunch of nostaglia, and everyone saying "they're back!" because they've been handed another dose of the sound they loved so long ago.
That isn't the case with Diamond Eyes. Not at all.
White Pony and Diamond Eyes are dramatically different pieces of work. White Pony is controlled chaos while Diamond Eyes is very deliberate. White Pony is full of youthful spirit while Diamond Eyes comes from a clearer mind. White Pony is the beginning of the party while Diamond Eyes is the night cap. White Pony has you chanting along while Diamond Eyes leaves you with mouth agape.
This is Deftones perfecting their craft. Hitting on all cylinders and leaving nothing to be desired. Individual song wise, I think Diamond Eyes is the best Deftones album of all time. Nothing leaves you kind of craning your neck trying to decide whether you like it or if you just like everything else around it so much that you're willing to let it pass. Any song off of Diamond Eyes is worth listening to. However, it is funny how sometimes the right time and the right place matters more than overall quality. White Pony is an exceptional album, an exceptional album that created many of the Deftones fans who proceeded to be blown away by Diamond Eyes, and the cultural significance of White Pony is undeniable. While Diamond Eyes isn't likely to ever be remembered with the fondness of it's powerful predecessor, it can rest easy knowing that time will remember it as a can't miss classic and the greatest of it's kind.
Recommended Tracks: 976-Evil, This Place Is Death
03. Team Sleep - Team Sleep (2005)
Are the Deftones dead? Is this Chino Moreno's swan song? So much controversy and tension existed around this time period among Deftones fans that you would have thought that the band everyone loved never would have set foot in a room with one another ever again. Was everything a little overblown during this time period? Undoubtedly. Did Chino ignore all of the overzealous fanboys/girls and release a unique, mind blowingly relaxing album in it's wake? Oh yes, he did.
While this isn't a Deftones album, it is a spiritual extension of the band, as Team Sleep is essentially Deftones without the heaviness. And it works, it works so incredibly well I don't think anyone could have anticipated it. Team Sleep is how I was introduced to Chino's work, an experience I feared would be ruined by listening to the more 'extreme' Deftones, so for a very long time I treasured this gem without ever listening to a Deftones song. How pleasantly surprised I was when I finally made the jump, but I will always have fond memories of Team Sleep. This album helped shape my view away from "all metal, all the time" to a much broader and accepting mindset. If you're a Deftones fan that somehow managed to miss out on Team Sleep, track it down. You'll be happy you did.
Recommended Tracks: Ataraxia, Elizabeth
04. Deftones - Koi No Yokan (2012)
Following up White Pony was a deathblow to Deftones' self titled album and Koi No Yokan had to follow in the footsteps of the equally beloved Diamond Eyes. With great excitement and equally great fears, Deftones fans plunged into the newest Deftones album. Their eyes widened, bright and full of love, as they realized Deftones was returning with a similar sound to Diamond Eyes and an album packed full of more great material.
Re-inventing a band that was popular with a younger generation as the band unavoidably grows older is an issue every group under the sun has had to contend with. Instead of trying to grind on the same old wheel, Deftones instead decided to appeal to an older audience while still producing a sound that even younger music listeners will appreciate. Koi No Yokan is yet another technical marvel, taking the listener on a journey from beginning to end in the first seamless listen since White Pony. In fact, Koi No Yokan is possibly the easiest album to just sit down and enjoy. No prerequisites, no age stipulations, nothing but an enjoyment of music is necessary.
Romantic Dreams is the song that finally got me to dabble in the Deftones and Koi No Yokan is the first album of theirs that I owned. I have to say I couldn't have asked for a better starting point and so many of my other favorite bands took a long backseat ride while I became absorbed by all that Deftones had to offer. Koi No Yokan does not disappoint and, if you've also never heard a Deftones album before, I'll recommend this as the place to jump in. If you like this album then you are in for so, so much more as you explore everything else the band has done.
Recommended Tracks: Romantic Dreams, Entombed
05. Deftones - Around The Fur (1997)
Equal parts brilliant and chaotic, Around The Fur is the clear starting point of the infamous Deftones sound. Bouncing between moments of intensity, sincerity, sexuality, and beauty in seamless fashion is an accomplishment all unto itself but the great quality of songwriting throughout the entire album is what launches it even further into the stratosphere. Around The Fur can be listened to in parts and still be enjoyable but it's real accomplishment is how it all comes together when listened to from beginning to end. The same fast tempo and raw emotion permeates the entire experience, blending all of the songs together while still keeping each of them immediately identifiable.
While later albums have split Deftones fans into very distinct groups, there is definitely something to be said for being the first on the scene, and Around The Fur was the first album that blew everyone's minds. Everyone had heard heavy music with some catchy breakdowns but no one had heard two emotional extremes share space so naturally before. Chino's screams are terrifying and his singing voice is genuinely soothing, not to mention all the tones in between that add credence to the band's name choice. If you love music and love hearing standout examples of what music can be, you shouldn't miss out on this album.
Recommended Tracks: Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away), Dai The Flu
06. Deftones - Saturday Night Wrist (2006)
Everyone put on your judgment hats, Deftones are back. Oh, and they've changed again. I know...I KNOW! How could they? HOW DARE THEY? This is so different! So WEIRD! Why would they ever release something like this? O-M-G!
Calm down. Listen. Yes, this album is a lot more airy and, on the whole, a lot less aggressive than earlier Deftones albums. It does not, however, completely eliminate the aggression, it just explores a completely different vibe, one I think works. There is a lot of really good material on Saturday Night Wrist, numerous 'favorite songs' people have within the Deftones discography, and yet so many people HATE this album. I can kind of see it, the album is very bi-polar with it's sound and can be difficult to listen to from beginning to end. This isn't likely to be background music as it really demands your attention but there are so many strange changes of direction that many listeners become put off.
No problem. Everyone has different tastes in music and not everything is accessible but there is no denying the good that Saturday Night Wrist brought with it. There are songs with minimal and no screaming (in fact, these make up the majority of the album) that are exceptional. The best the Deftones have ever produced. But yes, on the whole, Saturday Night Wrist doesn't really flow well together which is why it tends to be a bit of a forgotten relic when compared to the rest of the Deftones discography. But this was an important transition point, the transition that led to the classics that would follow it.
Recommended Tracks: Cherry Waves, Kimdracula
07. Deftones - Deftones (2003)
Deftones' self-titled album is that kid that gets picked on because, while it is still exceptional compared to most, it isn't as cool as it's older cousins. There are people that genuinely believe this album killed the band. Stone cold dead. But nothing could be further from the truth. The self-titled album marked a change in sound for the band, something that shouldn't have come as too surprising after the drastic sound shift from Adrenaline to Around The Fur and the change this time around isn't even that dramatic. The problem is that this isn't Around The Fur and it isn't White Pony, at least in the eyes of far too many.
I'm not saying their self-titled album is as good as those albums, it objectively isn't, but it certainly has enough material that can make an honest claim to being close. The major difference is that the songs have been rather clearly defined rather than feeling like a stream of consciousness. Heavy songs are heavy, light songs are light, and anything that is supposed to be somewhere in between is just somewhere in between. The dramatic shifts don't happen as often during individual songs but are certainly still present on the album as a whole. The best songs on the self-titled album stand up to the best songs on any of their other albums, it is just that much of the rest isn't as accessible and therefore earned the scorn of public opinion. A shame.
Recommended Tracks: Good Morning Beautiful, Battle-axe
08. Deftones - Adrenaline (1995)
Every band has a beginning, that first swing at the unknown spaces to see if they can make any connection at all. Like anyone starting out in life there is no telling what will happen once they mature and Adrenaline is a perfect example of this. There is no hint that the Deftones will become one of the most widely adored metal bands of all time, none of the elaborately designed textures that helped push them that extra mile to stardom, just a good bit of aggression and disappointment with life.
While Adrenaline doesn't have a lot of memorable tracks, the few that are have survived the test of time, being just as intense and fistpumping as ever. The common theme of clawing through the dredges of society and having all this free time to waste on nothing is definitely relatable. I can see why Adrenaline is so fondly remembered by those who grabbed it upon it's release. There is a certain level of honesty and rawness on Adrenaline that was a bit rarer in the time period it was released but was clearly a major influence on the late-90s, early 00s rise of bands like Slipknot, Mudvayne, and the "Nu-Metal" scene in general. A must-have for fans but likely nothing that will excite a casual listener too much.
Recommended Tracks: 7 Words, Engine No. 9
