Deftones

DEFTONES | CHAPTER FOUR

Deftones’ Self Titled is a wonderful experience. It seems to be a continuation of the sound of their last affair White Pony, but with more shoegaze and trip hop influence than that record. Per the usual, the instrumentals are all crunchy and heavy, with some nice technical ability blended in as well, Chino’s incredible vocals, which combine his angelic melodic singing, screeching, and crooning, and the lyrics are pretty damn good. A variety of topics are handled on here, and even strangely suicide bombing on explosive (no pun intended) opener Hexagram.

But to roll the dial back a bit, there is a wide variety of sounds and styles covered on here, so much so that people may call it messy. Personally though, I find it to keep the album interesting and keep the listener on their toes. Over the 11 tracks Chino and the group tackle Trip Hop (Lucky You), Shoegaze (most tracks on here), Post-Hardcore (Hexagram), and most interestingly, Piano Balladry on Anniversary Of An Uninteresting Event, which is one of my favorite songs on here and a definite highlight. Elsewhere, the riffs pack a huge punch and the metal side of this album certainly isn’t sacrificed for experimentalism. For an album with many ideas there’s an even balance of all the ideas.

The first 4 tracks (Hexagram, Needles And Pins, Minerva and Good Morning Beautiful) are an incredible sweep of songs, and lead you into this album beautifully. Despite not being right next to White Pony this is an amazingly solid follow up that I think is way better than the 74 that is given on here. It punches you in the face with it’s riffs, hooks you in with it’s consistently catchy choruses, and moves you with Chino’s diverse vocals and captivating lyricism. Chino didn't let a vocal surgery stop him from relentless touring and screaming his soul out in the recording process of this album. 2003 would prove to offer another banger of an album from the tones, and not even long after their magnum opus 3 years prior.

Favorite Tracks: All

Okay Tracks: None

Least Favorite Tracks: None

(89 - 94

Yeah this record rules. Some tracks have grown off me a lil tho)