New Deftones Song - "Rocket Skates"

[Dogfighter28]

I'm still waiting for a decent rip to drop on what.cd, but from what I've heard its really good. Comparisons to nu metal bands at this point are ridiculous and make the offending party look ridiculous.

[exactlythesame]

Originally Posted by smashingjj

oh sorry i thought they were one of these major label rock bands selling big amounts of cd's and headlining festivals but i must have been mistaken

yes because being in the commercial world means you're automatically commercially driven

[smashingjj]

well hey now don't change the subject

[Catherine Wheel]

Deftones - Diamond Eyes Review - sputnikmusic

For anybody approaching Deftones' sixth (or seventh) album, I entreat you to dump your knowledge of the unfortunate circumstances of Chi Cheng's health and the scrapping of Eros, their supposedly aggressive, analog, five-guys-in-a-room real sixth album. Instead I want to trace out the peculiar way Deftones have approached anger, perversion, obsession, and the other negative themes found in Deftones' music. As a lyricist Chino has always played with blending sex and violence in ways that can be muddled and warm ("Digital Bath") or volatile and vicious ("Elite"). As songwriters Deftones have always bounced between the metallic leanings of Stephen Carpenter and the ambient production of DJ Frank Delgado. These bifurcating stances on lyrics and songwriting never reached a meaningful synergy until White Pony, an album that made good on Deftones' surface aggression by creating bleak and sexualized soundscapes that functioned as immaculate pairings. In my mind, White Pony is a masterpiece, and no other album in the past ten years has found such a potent mapping between concept and execution, theme and content, or mechanics and tone.

Deftones, their fourth LP, was not that. Though there were some amazing songs, that album was mired by a failure to realize a unified vision. The brooding tracks were unadorned and retreads, the heavy tracks were visceral but played around with melodic passages in awkward ways, and the lone electronic track "Lucky You" was just a head scratcher. Saturday Night Wrist changed everything. With the exception of "Pink Cellphone," that album redefined the core flavors of Deftones' music. While their self-titled LP was effectively White Pony 2, Saturday Night Wrist took the anomalous melodic sections and expanded them into entire songs. "Hole in the Earth" had a positive, clean groove and the chorus of "Cherry Waves" was sensitive and bouncy (think of the "you-oo-oo-oo" vocals). Deftones redefined their core sound to be melodic and hopeful rather than dirge-like and tortured. There was still sex, violence, and metal, but the delivery method had soft edges and a catchy sensibility that completely redefined the Deftones' sound without compromising their unique blend of conflicting themes and sounds.

I thought Deftones had reached a pinnacle for this new sound on Saturday Night Wrist until I heard Diamond Eyes. Diamond Eyes not only attains a yet higher peak for Deftones' dreamy, hopeful aesthetic, but ingeniously combines this aesthetic with the heaviness, inventiveness, and ambiance that made White Pony such a profound record. Diamond Eyes is union of the two Deftones: the metallic, desperate, and sadistic and the melodic, yearning, and sensitive.

Diamond Eyes begins fittingly on a song, "Diamond Eyes," that functions like a stichomythia between these two sides. The song's verses chug in a way that is reminiscent of Adrenaline, but Chino's soulful, off-key vocals segue the track from nu-metal to shoegaze as the chorus enters. Most other tracks blend these two worlds in less dichotomous ways, often overlaying contrasting musical ideas in such a way that either can drive the song to melodic or metallic territory at any given moment. "Prince" uses a White Pony-era bass line laden with chorus to introduce a strange, ugly motive only to have the trebly, melodic guitar sitting in the background blossom into a full-on lead part in the chorus, driving the track away from the grainy, gurgling bass line. The metallic guitar in the verse of "Risk" is carefully undercut by a homophonic synth line that introduces a soft texture that ultimately takes over the choruses. Nearly every track on this album muddies the line between the "two Deftones" in a way that the intrinsic differences between these two styles are no longer contrasts but components of an all-new, all-encompassing aesthetic that blows the old good vs. evil archetype completely out of the water.

This combination would be impossible if not for genius production and instrumental performances. Frank Delgado, channeled through new producer Nick Raskulinecz, sets his multi-faceted pall over the album, elevating every track in an evocative and inventive way. "CMND/CTRL," arguably the simplest track on the album when it comes to achieving the new, "total" aesthetic described earlier, is transformed from an exercise in brutality to a ticking timebomb thanks to Delgado's minimal but effective special effects. Throughout the course of the song Delgado starts with barely audible swirling chorus mists and an electronic burp in the bridge that evolves into an alarm-like tone in the final verse that escalates the song to an unnerving collapse. Stephen Carpenter is probably the most varied performer on Diamond Eyes. His grooving metal riffs are so heavy you'll gain weight listening to them ("Rocket Skates"), but his melodic passages are sweeter and softer than ever before ("Sextape"). Oldnew bassist Sergio Vega and drummer Abe Cunningham are as good as a rhythm section can be, being both tight in execution and loose in feel, a subtle but crucial distinction that has always kept Deftones' music in a league of its own. This instrumental core's high point is "You've Seen the Butcher," a song that sets stoner metal riffing to a smooth 6/8 flow reminiscent of post-rock. These two strange bedfellows are unified in a way that really defies explanation.

And what Deftones review would be complete without lavish praise thrown on vocalist and visionary, Chino Moreno? Though he may never again capture a performance as manic and transcendent as the one on White Pony (ref: "Digital Bath" and "Knife Party") his second best is still miles beyond expectations. The blasé slurs of "Beauty School" blend effortlessly into the wistful instrumentals. The howling in "You've Seen the Butcher" is otherworldly. The falsetto wailing in the chorus of "976-EVIL" has a certain spinal vibrato that takes an already genius song to an even more sublime place. Even though Chino's general style is detached and dreamy, he is always perfectly in tune with how his vocals can absolutely transform a track. The result of these perfectly inspired and powerful vocals are equally amazing songs.

Despite the indulgent praise that can be attributed to any one instrumental performance, passage, or song, the crowning achievement of Diamond Eyes may be its programming as an album, which really cements the new, "total" aesthetic mentioned earlier in this review. The album begins with simpler realizations of this emergent style that focus on digging in the roots of Deftones' more metallic side. However, by the time "You've Seen the Butcher" rolls into "Beauty School," something flips and the album is both heavy and melodic without being boorishly aggressive or wimpy. It's intense and visceral, but introspective and sensitive in ways Deftones have never been before. The remainder of the album adds dimensions to this sound by exploring the way it functions in many different vibes and flavors - relentless: "Rocket Skates," waterlogged: "Sextape," uplifting: "976-EVIL" - all with overwhelmingly positive results. By the end of the album, this sound is rendered so fully and beautifully that previous efforts to combine them (i.e. their previous two albums) seem adolescent by comparison. Diamond Eyes is wild and serene, and I can honestly say its Deftones' best album to date.

[Eulogy]

CMND/CNTRL is fucking awesome. yessssss.

digging this album more with every listen.

[russian iha]

The album is a masterpiece, I've been listening to it for three weeks non-stop after the leak surfaced.

The whole experience is akin to Alice falling in a rabbit hole, and by the second half of CD it becames unbearably cathartic.

I was not a fan of Rocket Skates at first, and had trouble with opening seconds of Diamond Eyes, because I was expecting some mindless sludge, but then the whole ambient-euphoric chorus exploded and didn't stop until the end. Chino's vocals are stellar and improved to the point that I thought they hired a guest singer or used some crazy digital manipulations.

Most of the tracks are so MCIS, and I'd go to say that Deftones probably deserve to be hailed as a modern version of SP. If this album is not a Siamese Dream 2, I'm pretty sure that in three years they will have an album of that rank on their hands.

[Astur]

Originally Posted by russian iha

The album is a masterpiece, I've been listening to it for three weeks non-stop after the leak surfaced.

The whole experience is akin to Alice falling in a rabbit hole, and by the second half of CD it becames unbearably cathartic.

I was not a fan of Rocket Skates at first, and had trouble with opening seconds of Diamond Eyes, because I was expecting some mindless sludge, but then the whole ambient-euphoric chorus exploded and didn't stop until the end. Chino's vocals are stellar and improved to the point that I thought they hired a guest singer or used some crazy digital manipulations.

Most of the tracks are so MCIS, and I'd go to say that Deftones probably deserve to be hailed as a modern version of SP. If this album is not a Siamese Dream 2, I'm pretty sure that in three years they will have an album of that rank on their hands.

I love Deftones, I really like the new album, I think you just wanked too hard. Not a masterpiece, no SP hailing, fuck, it has nothing to do with Mellon Collie.

[DeadOpera]

half of the album is boring and the other half is okay. I wish they would try and go for a new sound or experiment more.

[russian iha]

Originally Posted by Astur

I love Deftones, I really like the new album, I think you just wanked too hard. Not a masterpiece, no SP hailing, fuck, it has nothing to do with Mellon Collie.

This thing is subjective.

But still I can't name any of temporary bands that sound like SP1 in terms of production and an approach to dynamics simultaneously. Silversun Pickups don't count since they don't have any distant clue about what dynamics are.

[Catherine Wheel]

It does remind me of Siamese Dream at times. Deftones kind of sound like a cross between Glassjaw, Chevelle and the Smashing Pumpkins.

[Astur]

Originally Posted by DeadOpera

half of the album is boring and the other half is okay. I wish they would try and go for a new sound or experiment more.

Indeed. Although I liked the album I think it's still more of the same (good, sometimes brilliant) style they have been offering since White Pony. But I feel they have mastered it or something, it would be cool to see them go in a completely new direction or do some crazy experimentation. But I suppose that's up to next Team Sleep album, if there is ever such a thing.

Originally Posted by russian iha

This thing is subjective.

But still I can't name any of temporary bands that sound like SP1 in terms of production and an approach to dynamics simultaneously. Silversun Pickups don't count since they don't have any distant clue about what dynamics are.

What I do find similar to SP in the Deftones is that shiny, beautiful, yet dark and romantic ambient or melodies (for example, "Beauty School", which is amazing). Their spirit or soul may be alike, but I can't seem to see any similarity in dynamics or production.

[Catherine Wheel]

I think there are some songs on White Pony and Saturday Night Wrist and this one that sound like Pumpkins songs. Still I think Silversun Pickups, Feeder (first two albums), and Placebo are all much more similar to the Pumpkins. Deftones from time to time flirt with SP sounds but aren't copycats like those other bands.

[Astur]

Originally Posted by Catherine Wheel

I think there are some songs on White Pony and Saturday Night Wrist and this one that sound like Pumpkins songs. Still I think Silversun Pickups, Feeder (first two albums), and Placebo are all much more similar to the Pumpkins. Deftones from time to time flirt with SP sounds but aren't copycats like those other bands.

If they are such SP1 copycats I might give them a try

[Catherine Wheel]

Feeder are pretty boring. I'd steer clear of them. The first two Placebo albums are quite good for what they are.

[zerochanceigot]

i'm trying to like it, i think it needs more screaming in it. Buttt i might listen to the album.

[russian iha]

Originally Posted by Catherine Wheel

Feeder are pretty boring. I'd steer clear of them. The first two Placebo albums are quite good for what they are.

Yes, Placebo, though they seem to be more into Sonic Youth/Pavement (the whole self-titled album felt like a "Sugar Kane" stretched to an hour before eventually it grew on me). Anyway listen to "Breathe Underwater" off "Battle for the Sun" album - at some point it feels like a TAFH track.

[Sonic Johnny]

I may just have to get this. I have not given a shit about the deftones for many years now aside from occasionally throwing on some cuts from Adrenaline or White Pony to jam along to when i'm drumming. But today I heard Rocket Skates on the radio (of all places) and was like "holy shit, that's actually pretty good"

[russian iha]

Go check out. Worth mentioning that Rocket Skates is probably the weakest track on the album compared to others.

Also get Saturday Night Wrist, it's a less anthemic and more subdued version of this album.

[Catherine Wheel]

Yeah the first Placebo album does kind of sound like Sonic Youth with some SP flourishes. The second Placebo album sounds mostly like Siamese Dream era b-sides to me.

[Astur]

Originally Posted by Catherine Wheel

Yeah the first Placebo album does kind of sound like Sonic Youth with some SP flourishes. The second Placebo album sounds mostly like Siamese Dream era b-sides to me.

Do you people compare everything to SP?

[Sonic Johnny]

Correcting my above post - it was Diamond Eyes I heard, but that song ruled.

Also, any deftones fans who haven't listened to Quicksand (the band whose former bassist is covering for Chi) really should check out Slip. Amazing record.

[johnnyroyal]

new deftones is pretty sweet. very aggressive. i dont think they were trying to be experimental, they just wanted to get all anger and frustration out and rock the fuck out. really want to listen to eros. rocket skates is definitely the weakest song on the album imo. best are diamond eyes, cmnd/control, beauty school, you've seen the butcher

[Eulogy]

also did anyone notice that chino got totally hot sometime over the course of the last couple years?

i'm into it.

[Dogfighter28]

The beginning of Prince is a ripoff of RX Queen

Good song nonetheless

[exactlythesame]

Originally Posted by Dogfighter28

The beginning of Prince is a ripoff of RX Queen

Good song nonetheless

the verse bass line for prince is as original as it gets, it has nothing to do with RX queen other than the half-step interval

[Fattening Ass]

chino has always been good looking, he was just pretty chubby lately, also, album is good.

[cardiac]

So this is pretty great. Best chorus I've heard in a while.

[Sonic Johnny]

shmeh

[ghost-mutt]

i'm really enjoying leathers. this band always delivers, looking forward to the new album.

[Eulogy]

i like it too. excited for the new album. not excited that i'm gonna miss them on this tour : (

also chino is no longer hot. but that's ok.