Alternative metal five-piece Deftones opts to extend from every angle in their fourth album. When thrashing, brutal “Bloody Cape” is cushioned between dark trip hop piece “Lucky You” and ambient “Anniversary of an Uninteresting Event,” the band uses their pain-ridden eponymous LP to resist their restless “nu-metal” association. “Deftones” proves that the band is more than their classic formula of sultry whispers, effect-heavy guitars, and cracking snares. “We told motherfuckers not to lump us in with nu-metal because when those bands go down, we aren't going to be with them,” lead singer Chino Moreno states in an interview.
The year is 2003, which the band marks as “the beginning of the dark days.” Coming up on 10 years of being a signed act while coming down from touring on their previous record, “White Pony,” the Sacramento band is burnt out and going through the motions. “Deftones” is recorded out of self-imposed obligation rather than authentic passion. For the first time, they feel like they have something to live up to given the commercial success of “White Pony.” However, this pressure is not enough to kill their vices. Moreno is admittedly “out of [his] mind" on drugs, bassist Chi Cheng is falling asleep mid-take, and there is hardly a time where the four are in the same room at the same time. If the group were a teenybopper bubblegum pop group, this would be a horrible situation to be in. Luckily, Deftones’s discography is already painted in darkness. Dysfunction and dissociation work in this record’s favor as the members sink deeper into the ocean, discovering uncharted territory along the way. Pain and frustration inject themselves across the whole record from Stephen Carpenter’s wailing guitar on opener “Hexagram,” Frank Delgado’s haunting bass synth on “Lucky You,” all the way to Abe Cunningham’s incomplete drums on closer “Moana.” In an interview, Cunningham states, “I didn’t even finish [my part], it just tumbles out, and that was the end. I cared, but I didn’t even complete that shit.” After missing deadline after deadline, the band finally deems the album finished. What was originally titled “Lovers” is swapped for “Deftones,” as the band considers this record to be a sort of rebirth. Moreno later admits that the irony of naming their career after a record that mirrors the band’s darkest days. Thematically, the LP tells the story of reaching out for a saving grace. In states of desperation and delusion, Moreno glorifies his toxic partner, falling to his knees and becoming numb at the sound of her voice in “Minerva” and refusing to leave her in a broken state while knowing she will soon break him in growling bass-led “Good Morning Beautiful.” “As soon as you came in/The agony, it went away” he sings over Carpenter’s downtempo sludging strums on “Deathblow.” Though his cravings subside at the beginning, he concludes with “Well, I should have known/It’s still the same song,” as his addiction finds its way back whenever she is absent. Darkness is channeled through rage until Moreno becomes too tired to scream, taking a left turn on track 10 “Anniversary of an Uninteresting Event.” Kick drums sound off like cannons and sanctified synths fill the space surrounding Moreno’s alluring melodies: “High on the waves you make for us/But not since you left have the waves come.” Reflecting on a turbulent drug-induced relationship, Moreno doesn’t realize her weight until he feels himself carrying it after she’s absent. Though given the green light to move on, Moreno relapses in closer “Moana” as the cold metal chain around his neck only grows tighter and heavier. His former lover has already “carved his heart,” and letting her rule his world is easier than shaping a new one without her. Despite the band’s state of disarray and detachment, “Deftones” evokes a feeling of suffocation, blurred vision, and blankly staring at the freshly broken glass after destroying everything in sight. In retrospect, Moreno is glad it happened: “The record is exactly what it is. It is a snapshot of that time in our lives…It’s genuine.” The record remains as one of their heaviest efforts to date both in terms of sound and songwriting. Though Deftones eventually made their way through the “dark days” some three years later, their self-titled perfectly encapsulates the sporadic destruction weathered by the whirlwind of sex, drugs, and their respective subgenre of rock ‘n’ roll.
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authorHallie Newnam studied journalism at Columbia College Chicago. You can find her archived journalistic work here. |