Deftones

I wanted to spend some time this weekend writing a history of one of my most favourite bands. Deftones. When i say history, i mean music history and how their music has evolved over the past 15 years. I also want to point out my highs and lows of their music evolution.

Deftones were a band that i came across in my youth, they were a band that has stayed with me through most of my adult life. I’ve listened to their music on and off for the past 10 years and have always appreciated its simple yet deep melodic sound. They are a unique band and one that has profoundly affected my life.

Deftones released their first studio album in 1995;

Adrenaline - 1995

Being their first album, this one is a little hit and miss and probably my least favourite album. It is still very much worth listening too so don’t discount it if you’re looking to get into the band. Deftones were still finding their niche when this album debuted, however you can very much pick out their unique sound, mainly provided by Chino’s voice. It’s quite heavy and overly aggressive which may be off-putting to some you but it is a good place to start if you want to understand the roots of the band.

I have several favourite songs on this album, these being;

One Weak

Lifter

Engine No 9

All great tunes, but there are a few on the album which are a little odd and possibly only for the open minded. Worth a try though!

Around the Fur - 1997

This is without a doubt my favourite Deftones album. It is one of those seminal albums which contains only great songs and is i think, along with Tool’s Lateralus & 10,000 days, one of the best metal albums ever to grace this planet.

Deftones had found their sound, and it was something very unique. It dragged me in and has held me tight ever since. This album contains my favourite song of all time which i revealed several weeks ago, “Be Quiet and Drive”. The song is so simple, it has so few lyrics. However if you look beyond that, listen to the way the music is conveyed to you, you’ll find it’s so much deeper than you initially think. The song makes you think, makes you wonder. Why is he singing these lyrics? What do they mean? The fact that they could mean x y or z makes the track so interesting. The guitar play is also incredible.

I can listen to this album all day and still enjoy it, it’s wonderful. There aren’t many albums out there that can do that.

Listen and buy the whole album, but i will pick out some favourites;

Be Quiet and Drive (Of course!)

Lahbia

Around the Fur

Dai the Flu

MX

A magical album, really, honestly... You must experience it.

White Pony - 2000

This is widely regarded (now that is) as a truly great and landmark piece of music. When it was released, White Pony received mixed reviews. It was a departure from the previous two albums and took the band in a new direction. I admit it’s not my favourite album, and when you first listen to it you might think it’s a little odd. Its undoubtedly Deftones, but it’s very melodic and the album spends most of its time trying to tell you something. It’s hard to say if you will like it or not, it’s just something you’ll have to listen too. If you bear with it, you will understand and probably end up agreeing that it is a masterpiece of the metal world.

Songs to look out for are;

Change (In the House of Flies)

Passenger

Elite

Korea

Again though, you can argue every song on the album is worth your time. They are all excellent tracks that all try and tell you a story, which as you have probably gathered, is one thing i love about Deftones.

Deftones – 2003 (Self titled)

After White Pony and the criticism it received at the time, Deftones attempted to return to their roots with their self titled fourth album. This was very much a return to something in between Adrenaline and Around the Fur. It was a heavy mix of Metal and aggression that was a strange departure from the direction White Pony had taken the band.

I always felt strange about this album. I always thought that maybe the band felt insecure about themselves after White Pony and wanted to keep their fans happy by releasing something more mainstream. Don’t read that as a negative. The album is as fantastic as anything else they have produced and has some great songs that will have you head banging away, if you’re into that sort of thing...

If you love metal and are a little unsure about Deftones this may be a good place to start as it’s a little more acceptable to the wider music community. It may be a good way to ease into Deftones, moving onto Adrenaline or Around the Fur afterwards.

Some highlights include;

Minerva

Bloody Cape

Hexagram

Saturday Night Wrist – 2006

This album is without a doubt my second favourite Deftones album. I have actually only recently purchased it, and i must admit the title of it really put me off... I had images of me listening to full on emo music. I was wrong, it is absolutely epic in every way. You must purchase this album, alongside Around the Fur to get a full understanding of what Deftones are about.

This album also includes one of my most favourite songs of all time - Kimdracula, another epic, roller coaster of a song that has so many great moments you will want to listen again and again to fully understand it. Cherry Waves is also very special, a masterpiece in fact.

In short, buy this album. So many favourite here...

Kimdracula

Cherry Waves

Beware

Mein

Hole in the Earth

Diamond Eyes – 2010

So, this is Deftones latest offering and has strong influences from the terrible accident experienced by one of the members of the band. I believe the album change significantly after he slipped into a coma as a result of a car accident.

I do have a confession to make. I haven’t actually purchased this album yet... It has only recently been released and i wanted to wait until it was a bit cheaper before buying it. Ahem... My apologies. I shall leave this one open and post a review up when i have bought it and listened.

I have no doubt that it will be excellent, like all their previous efforts.

So yes, that is my brief history of one of, if not my favourite, bands. Honestly, please give them a shot you won’t be disappointed. Their music is so moving and just makes you feel so alive. I can’t think of a better compliment than that. When you wake up and all you want to do is hear some of their music, you know it’s something special.

Have a good weekend.

Alex

Holiday Blog :-)

Im a little late posting this, since i’ve been a little busy since i got home. But here is what i wrote while i was away. Nothing major, just felt like writing something every day! I’ll be back this week with some rants. Mainly because im back at work, and that’s just shit in all ways.

Thursday 30^th September

So i arrived at around 3:30pm to my Gran’s place. Not only was the drive here really nice, i could feel the resentment and tiresome life of living in a busy town drift slowly away as the miles passed. What a nice feeling, one which has not been felt for a long time.  I know it sounds strange, but honestly driving through the countryside with the sun just poking occasionally through the clouds is a beautiful thing. I actually prefer this time of year to summer, it’s a bit cooler and the world somehow seems more clean and fresh.

My Gran has given me this really cool little room to stay in. I really love her house, it’s so old world and country-like and i really love it here. No noise at all, so quiet and so just the opposite of everything that im used to being a part of. Im sitting at a kind of old stufy desk as i type this, looks like it was made in about 1910. Sitting in what i suppose could be deemed to be an office chair, although it’s made of wood and has no wheels on it! No plastic in sight!

Im glad i came. This morning i was a bit dubious, mainly because i thought the reason why i wanted to get away, namely being depressed out of my skin, was gone. I soon realised when i got here that it wasn’t gone and being here is actually making me think more about it than ever before. But thats ok i guess, maybe it’s a sign of dealing with issues? Who knows. Im feeling a little tired and will type more tomorrow, hopefully we’re going to head off somewhere historic tomorrow so im looking forward to it. 

Friday 1^st October

Well today didn’t go quite according to plan! The weather has been awful, i mean really quite awful to the point where we literally couldn’t do anything all day. The rain was pounding against the window from early this morning until late in the evening. What a wash out!

I did venture out to the supermarket with the dog, but got totally drenched and ended up having to spend the afternoon wearing shorts as id only brought one pair of jeans with me! Oh well, at least i bought some rice and a paper... Totally worth it! 

Still the day wasn’t a total loss, since i spent most of it in a nice warm chair drinking tea and reading about the history of the Falkland Island and subsequent conflict. So as im sure you’d agree, a pretty awesome day! Jesus im so old, you wouldn’t think i was 25 would you.

I’ve been asking my Gran about her house whilst writing this, she tells me it was built in 1790!? Wow, amazing huh? She was saying that it used to be designated a hovel, haha... I can assure you its not a hovel anymore. Although she did mentioned when they bought it they applied for a special designation or something. However the body came back to them and said the building had no features, either interior or exterior which were desirable. How nice of them!!!

Anyway, think im going to venture into town tomorrow to investigate a bit. We’ll see, hopefully it won’t be chucking it down with rain!!

Saturday 2^nd October

Had an awesome sleep in the bed i was given. Felt like i was lying on a slightly collapsing fainting couch. Oooh manly! Anyway, managed to wake up eventually and finally went for a nice walk. Also found some beech nuts on the ground and munched on them. Who knew you could even do that? Something to remember audience! I do love my Gran’s dog, she’s so awesome. Although since she’s actually on a diet now she keeps licking my fingers whenever ive eaten something. Oh well, i left about 2pm and had a nice leisurely drive home. Some bastard policemen were waiting at the bottom of a hill on the way home trying to catch people speeding. Luckily i was warned by oncoming traffic to slowdown. Damn nice of them, since i was speeding quite heavily... AHEM what i mean to say was i was well within the speed limits!

That’s it really i had a nice relaxing few days and although it might have come across as boring, sometimes that’s what you need. Was nice to get away from things for a while, just chill out and read and cook stuff. Although the main reason i went was to try and figure out some stuff. All i managed to figure out was that i still miss her and it sucks. Bit stupid really since i’ve known that for like the last 6 months. Great job Alex, great job. 

Just finally, i have no clue whats going on with the formatting on Blogger, its all screwed up for me. I have no idea why. Might try a different font...

Take care!