Deftones return with a slow growing rosebud of their particular brand of shoegazey nu metal. But does it stand up to their illustrious back catalogue?
It’s been a mixed bag for the past 15 or so years for Deftones. Gore was, let’s face it, not great. Ohms didn’t fumble the bag quite as hard, but it was hardly the monolithic efforts of Koi No Yokan and Diamond Eyes (was that really 15 years ago now?) The band have had a resurgence in recent years, selling out larger and larger gigs, culminating in the wildly successful show at Crystal Palace Park recently, where they ripped it up delivering a varied set with old favourites and newer tracks alike. Despite this it is with a little trepidation that we open private music the latest 8 (or 9) string riddled piece of work from the masters of straddling shoegaze and nu metal.
The opening track ‘my mind is a mountain’, the lead single, is a big stomping mammoth akin to the heavy smashing vibes of Diamond Eyes, but it takes a few tracks before we get something a bit more fresh in the form of ‘Infinite Source.’ It still carries the hallmarks of classic Deftones with Moreno flexing his vocal range more, pushing the boundaries of what he is capable of.
From that point onward the album is a veritable smorgasbord of Deftones tropes, from ‘ecydis’ with its neat darkwave intro and huge mid-tempo pounding, to the quiet contemplation of ‘i think about you all the time.’ ‘cut hands,’ stands out on first listen as a classic Deftones song. Ticking all the well established boxes and is bound to be a hit live, the big plodding grooves highlighted by more good vocal work. The ending as well is a perfect display of why so many people get into Deftones, the huge almost cinematic riff overlaid with Moreno’s vocals creates a soundscape akin to the steps of some ancient temple drenched in slime yet riddled with uncannily beautiful architecture.
‘departing the body,’ is a great way to round out the album, and highlights once again why Deftones are the kings of this type of music, their consistency is unrivalled. Rarely do they miss and choose to eschew totally new horizons, to explore just off the path more trodden. When taking private music as a whole it definitely does not miss, whilst it sometimes lacks the abyssal depths of Diamond Eyes which is in itself a high bar, on repeated listens it opens itself up like a blooming flower. By peeling away the petals of the top layer the tracks keep providing more and more to chew on, it’s for sure one of those albums that won’t necessarily knock you out the park the first time round, but will become more and more deeply pleasing as you rerun it.