Deftones, Diamond Eyes
Posted on 25th Apr 10 by Paul Groome | 
1
Over the years, Deftones have consistently let me down. It’s been a difficult, rocky relationship. Deftones (2000) and White Pony (2003) are both albums that are hard to compete with, but I’ve always tried to hold a candle for them with each new release. And did they show their mettle? Nah. Without delving into the [...]
Over the years, Deftones have consistently let me down. It’s been a difficult, rocky relationship. Deftones (2000) and White Pony (2003) are both albums that are hard to compete with, but I’ve always tried to hold a candle for them with each new release. And did they show their mettle? Nah. Without delving into the reasons why, Saturday Night Wrist from 2006 really did just suck the big one. I decided to ignore them. Treat ‘em mean, I thought… And it seems to have worked.
Deftones, Diamond Eyes
I wouldn’t lie to you people. Based on past experience, if I hadn’t been given a copy of this album to review, I wouldn’t have been rushing out to buy it. That would have been a rookie move.
Diamond Eyes was leaked onto the internet earlier this month, forcing them to bring the release date forward to May 4th. A wise move, because this album is going to be zipping through broadband routers worldwide, quicker than you can say “HolySweetJesusThisIsAsCoolAsTheOlderDeftonesAlbumsThatIReallyLike”.
The opening tune, CMND/CTRL doesn’t waste time building tension. It’s straight in there using the song writing skills that made them famous. Crunching riffs and harmonious choruses. Rocket Skates is one of my favorites, hailing from the Deftones album era. They don’t labour the point though, it’s more of a tip of the hat. And there’s still a few slow growing numbers that build up to well developed songs intermingling with delicate melodies. There’s definitely no dull moments though.
They’ve had their fair share of hardship in recent years. Their bass player, Chi Cheng, is still in a coma resulting in an entire albums worth of material, Eros, being stowed away for a possible future release. But if Eros ever sees the light of day, Chino Moreno and the boys will need to make sure it’s at least as good as Diamond Eyes. And that’ll be a tall order.
Drop-d Rating 9/10
Tags: Chi Cheng, chino marino, Deftones, diamond eyes, Eros, Rocket Skates, Saturday Night Wrist, white pony
Great review! I think a lot of old Deftones fans are going to have their faith restored by this album. If you’re interested in reading my thoughts on the album, swing my AudioADD.net – I’d love to get your comments!