Review Summary: Deftones experiment a bit more with the darker, edgier side of their sound; which ends up forming a largely experimental yet boring experiment.
Ever since
Around the Fur, Deftones' have been making their mark in metal history. Fusing a unique style of experimental rock with nu-metal, Deftones have always managed to innovate and sound completely different than anything else out there. The lead singer Chino Moreno's whispering, sprawling, and haunting vocals have always allured me to Deftones; as well as guitarist Stephen Carpenter's melodic, and sometimes strange guitar riffs and noises. After the massive epic
White Pony, Deftones went back to the drawing board and eventually crafted this album, their self-titled fourth release.
Much darker, heavier, and 'murky' then
White Pony, the album stands on its own; taking the poppy choruses and hooks and throwing them aside, in favor for more metal-influenced song structures and darker vibes, the album manages to show promise; but ends up coming off completely average. But why not? Its not like Deftones were trying to make another
White Pony; they are still trying to innovate and differentiate themselves album to album. Dirty, dark, and heavy is the best way to describe this album, but outside of a few very good songs, its absolutely boring and average.
Its not all bad, there's a few great listens like the hard, edgy
Hexagram which takes usage of heavy dynamic changes and rough guitar riffs, or
Minerva; which manages to have more of a
White Pony charm about it than anything on the album, as its fairly lighthearted and very catchy. That's about it though, the rest is completely average, boring stuff.
Chino Moreno said he was lazy with the songwriting, and this is easy to see, as the songs all blend together and come off ultimately boring. Going from the hard-edged
Hexagram to
Needles and Pins, its almost impossible to tell the two songs apart. Outside of one song,
Anniversary of An Uninteresting Event, the album seems to be the same prototypical hard metal that this album is abundant with. There's just not enough catchy hooks and variety here to keep me ultimately interested outside of the occassional listens to
Hexagram and
Minerva; which could easily have fit nicely into
White Pony or
Saturday Night Wrist; two of Deftones' finest works.
See, once you get past the boredom you've suffered from their self-titled album, what you see is a band sticking to what they know, while expanding their sound and making it as easily accessible as possible. They're not dumping their nu-metal roots like their fellow nu-metal bands; nor dropping their more experimental side, and that's what this album is; an experiment with the darker side of Deftones' sound, and while it makes a rather forgettable and boring album; the band is still trying, and you've got to give them credit for keeping themselves and their fans happy. This isn't the Deftones best album by far, in fact its rather forgettable and boring, but its a must-have for any Deftones fan.
DOWNLOAD:
Hexagram
Minerva
