Since the ’90s, the Deftones have clawed out their own specialized niche in music. Many have imitated them, but few have reached their heights. They were innovators of so-called nu metal and could easily have settled into complacency riding the wave they helped create. Instead they continue to make waves with their self-titled fourth album.

Deftones frontman Chino Moreno wastes no time in expressing his despair mere seconds into “Hexagram” with a blood-curdling scream that will make your skin crawl. The dense, down-tuned guitars of Stephen Carpenter form a solid backdrop for the vocals that’s more about creating a mood than a melody (”When Girls Telephone Boys”). Ironically one of the album’s most intense moments (”Lucky You”) doesn’t even involve guitar, it relies on Nine Inch Nails-type rhythm and keyboards to create an uncomfortable tension. DEFTONES winds down with the loud-soft-loud pattern they’re famous for on “Moana.”

Tracklisting
1. Hexagram
2. Needles And Pins
3. Minerva
4. Good Morning Beautiful
5. Deathblow
6. When Girls Telephone Boys
7. Battle-axe
8. Lucky You
9. Bloody Cape
10. Anniversary Of An Uninteresting Event
11. Moana

Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (5/29/03, p.60) – 4 stars out of 5 – “…This is metal that crushes, then soothes; collapses, then soars…”

Spin (7/03, p.105) – “…With DEFTONES, they’ve built a cathedral of suffering, filled to the rafters with agony, awe, and terror…” – Grade: B

CMJ (6/2/03, p.6) – “…These compositions are messy and contained, quiet and loud, aggressive and vulnerable–often within a single breath…”

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Deftones – Around the Fur

AROUND THE FUR, the follow-up to Deftones’ passionate, aggressive ADRENALINE, sees the California quartet expanding on the sheer rage of their earlier work, adding new, more sinister shades to their already extreme sound. The opening “My Own Summer (Shove It),” serves as an introduction to the album’s sonic theme: sinewy guitars and eerie whispers alternate with fast, violent crunch. Sepultura’s Max Cavallero contributes guitar and vocals to “Headup,” while “MX” finds singer Chino trading off vocal lines with Annalynn Cunningham, (wife of Deftones’ drummer Abe) in an acerbic take on the rock star mentality.

Vocal acrobat Moreno attacks a variety of styles: his breathy, psychotic recitations sound downright industrial, while the album’s calmer, more brooding moments show his gift for haunting melody. Behind him, guitarist Stephen Carpenter’s heavy wall of sound is astoundingly muscular, yet inspiringly agile. When Deftones’ hellish fury hits full tilt, as it always does on this album, Moreno’s voice erupts into screams which are best described as otherworldly, transforming this intense musical firestorm into a hurtling juggernaut of aggression.

Tracklisting
1. My Own Summer (Shove It)
2. Lhabia
3. Mascara
4. Around The Fur
5. Rickets
6. Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away)
7. Lotion
8. Dai The Flu
9. Headup
10. Mx