Deftones

A little while ago, I reviewed that fleshwater album. I said it reminded me a lot of Deftones' self-titled record. I didn't think that was inherently a bad thing as I thought the self-titled album was a fairly underrated Deftones album. Well I recently revisited it, and I may have to retract my words. I held it in high regard because it does have, what I think are to be, Deftones' two best songs. The album's opener Hexagram is incredibly intense featuring some of Chino Moreno's most shrill, broken, and throat shredding screams on any Deftones song. The 'A' section has a fantastic chord progression that resolves on a rather uplifting chord, and the 'B' section is this super rhythmic chugging section. We also have Minerva which is packed with all sorts of interesting harmony that gives it a hauntingly beautiful tone. I love how thick the guitars are on this track, and Moreno's voice floats soothingly on top. This song has so many stellar moments like the drum fill that brings the song back in after a brief moment of repose and Moreno's belt going into the final chorus.

The quality, however, shockingly dips down once you dig into the meat of this record though, and if you have read at all into the context surrounding the recording of this album, it makes a lot of sense. Deftones would be the last album the band would work with producer Terry Date until 2020's Ohms (although he did produce the band's shelved album Eros in between). The relationship between the band and the long-time producer became strained as a result of these sessions, which if I'm remembering correctly, was due to the band's supposed unpreparedness and sluggish work ethic. Listening to this record through a more critical lens definitely reveals a lack of focus. This is especially the case for Moreno's vocals, whose pitch and performance consistently sound like demo quality; as if he took one kick at the can with no preconceived notion of how or what he was going to perform and went "yeah, let's go with that." Deathblow and Battle-Axe are the most egregious examples of this.

I've also come to realize just how bland and uninspired some of these parts are. The aforementioned Deathblow and Battle-Axe have terribly boring verses. Anniversary of an Uninteresting Event has some decent production elements, but the song in the end really lives up to its title. The worst one by far is Lucky You which is a witchy and painfully minimal trip-hop track that is totally uneventful in just about every way imaginable.

Even though the vocals aren't great and the songs are haphazardly thrown together, the band still has enough talent to be passable at times. Needles and Pins at least has a really unique guitar tone on the main riff and its three note run cycles endlessly in this hypnotic and seductive (of the dangerous variety) manner. Abe Cunningham riff's in 4/4 creating this poly-rhythm with the guitar, and he performs it with a ton of feel. I also mess with Bloody Cape which has really thick riffs and an explosive finish from Moreno vocally as well.

So I misspoke, Deftones' self-titled album is certainly not as good as I remember it being. Perhaps I was partial to the two singles which are still near the tip-top of my favourite Deftones songs, but the rest is just not up to snuff. Perhaps they exhausted themselves creatively after delivering White Pony, an album many would argue to be their finest moment, and when it was time to make a new record, the well was still dry. Maybe the band's response to the pressure of following up White Pony was to just shovel it off and chill, to which they seriously overcompensated. Who knows? Either way, it's clear that the band were not in a good record making head-space, thus resulting in not their best work.