There was always something about Deftones that attracted me to them. I have never been too much of a hard metal fan, but I do enjoy some head-banging now and again. Deftones have always been about adding sonic elements to their music, and their newest album, Diamond Eyes, is no different. The band was writing a new album under the name Eros, but it was shelved after their bassist, Chi Cheng, was put into a coma after a car accident. Out of their grief and renewed sense of purpose comes what I believe to be the band's best album in a very long time.
Diamond Eyes is essentially a collection of everything that makes Deftones a great band. The songs here range from fierce ("CMD/CTRL" and "Rocket Skates") to more laid back ("Prince" and the title track) but still manage to sound fresh and familiar. There is an extra fierceness in Chino's voice and an extra thump in Abe's drumming, and the rest of the guys bring it just as hard. "Sextape" brings things down a bit and slows it down just enough to showcase some of the more subtle features Deftones are capable of.
It's a tie (for me at least) between this new album and "White Pony" for the title of best Deftones album. Like I said before this record is more of a collection of everything Deftones stand for rather than something more experimental (we'll have to wait for Eros to come out before we hear Deftones at their weirdest). It would be hard-pressed for me to find another hard-rock album better than "Diamond Eyes" this year. This is Deftones at their most focused. They set out to make a huge, rock-the-fuck-out album and they did just that. Check this one out for sure.
Final Score:
4.5 out of 5
Watch the video for ROCKET SKATES - RIGHT HERE.
Buy the album on AMAZON - RIGHT HERE.
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