Deftones: Diamond Eyes | Music Review

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Deftones
Diamond Eyes
***½

by Matthew Cole on May 3, 2010
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Take Deftones's groundbreaking White Pony alongside System of a Down's Toxicity and you've got the first and last argument for the whole nü-metal affair, everything worth remembering about the onslaught of post-Korn misfits who spent the decade warming up Ozzfest crowds for '80s metal acts well past their expiration dates. Which isn't entirely noteworthy in itself, as any metal-head interested in being more artful than Fred Durst had to succeed at exactly one thing: namely, not being Fred Durst. But, overachievers that they were, Deftones pushed themselves well ahead of the pack with each of their early releases, culminating with the classic White Pony, which blended the usual alt-metal influences (Tool, Faith No More, Nine Inch Nails) with the layered atmospherics of Pornography-era Cure. And in a rare instance of commercial success coinciding with artistic achievement, the disc went platinum, generated some buzz on MTV, and even won the band a Grammy.

The trouble with dropping one of your genre's definitive statements relatively early in your career is, naturally, figuring out what to do for a follow-up. The band has had a decade to prove that White Pony was something other than a fluke, but in that time they've had a hard time holding the interests of fans and critics alike. Diamond Eyes is their third post-Pony release, and while it's clearly the best rendition of their art-damaged aggro since, it's just as clearly just that.

The bifurcation between the pile-driving drop-tuned guitars on barnburners like "CMND/CTRL" and the elegantly textured shoegaze of "Sextape" or "Beauty School" isn't quite schizophrenic (you can tell, at least, that you're listening to the same band), but the transitions between and within songs fall well short of subtle. Compared to the infinitely more capable synthesis they've displayed on past singles like "Minerva" and "Change (In the House of Flies)," the Diamond-model Deftones's music sounds much more like an uneasy amalgam of their eclectic influences. Opening the record with ambiguous menace, the title track is a promising exception to the dichotomous soft/loud assault, but it's not a promise that the record ultimately delivers on.

Meanwhile, Chino Moreno, whose hypnotic vocals have long been the band's ace in the hole, occasionally overcompensates by completely overselling the material. Quirky title aside, "Rocket Skates" is among the most unsettling and aggressive tracks in the band's catalogue, but the bridge, which finds Moreno shrieking "Guns! Razors! Knives!," is absolutely ludicrous. And while the group's guitarists build up a perfectly lovely wall of early Pumpkins/Cocteau Twins–inspired dream-pop on "Sextape," Moreno spoils things by aiming the chorus straight for the Bono-sphere.

When Diamond Eyes isn't trying quite so hard to be a great record, though, it ends up being a pretty good one. "Beauty School" reimagines art-metal in gorgeously understated terms, and the closing track, "This Place Is Death," is tossed off so confidently that it takes a few listens to appreciate how inventive its structure actually is. Which sort of summarizes the position of Deftones in the year 2010: They can outperform most of their peers without breaking a sweat, but they haven't quite figured out how to execute their more grandiose ideas. For every light year that the alt-metal vets outpace the knuckle-dragging likes of Godsmack and Disturbed, they still lag one or two behind genuine-article visionaries like Mastodon and Isis.

Label: Reprise
Release Date: May 4, 2010

Comments

Aliendoll on May 4, 2010, 11:06 AM

The Guns Razors Kives chorus was ludicrous? Jeez Matthew, how in the world were you hearing that exactly?

Not that it matters much. This is one those pseudo reviews anyways. That which name drops other bands (even ones that aren't even relevant to compare to the album being reviewed) and see's the reviewer fawning at his/her own hyperbole english.

And the ultimate irrelevance comes with the kick in the pants ending, having the audacity to call mediocre Mastodon visionaries. Thanks for that laugh I really needed it. Crack The Skye: Another mediocre (if that) album that has been praised as a masterpiece, for reasons I'll never understand. I swear, Mastodon and Opeth fans must have circle jerks in the woods listening to their mediocre albums.

Note to Matthew Cole, and any other people who call themselves critics. Make sure you critique the material at hand (songs,lyrics,formula,song structure) , and stop mentioning a handful of other bands that don't belong in the equation, especially the smashing pumpkins.

Not surprisingly you've also subtlely without mention, written off deftones (self titled) and Saturday Night Wrist. Two superb albums which nobody gives a damn about, it's quite the mystery considering that the self titled is better than white pony and saturday night wrist is the best deftones album ever put out. Regardless, people only seem to care about/mention albums that do well, and ignore substance.

P.S. System Of A Down's self titled album is light years better than Toxicity, I'm surprised this isn't common knowledge.

swordinhand on May 4, 2010, 03:11 PM

Matthew I agree with some of what you say about this album, but clearly you have missed the point. Comparing this band to Mastodon and Isis was your first mistake. Mastodon and Isis are inventive metal bands, but they are way more progressive than pop, straying from most mainstream leanings. Deftones have always been closer to pop and are better for it. Mastodon and Isis also rely on complexity to a fault, rather than complexity of emotion and passion. Deftones is a band that stretches for outerspace, but keeps both feet on the ground. They are artistic but still appeal to most anybody who likes rock / metal. Also, Chino singing into the "Bono-sphere" sounds like a compliment to me, but you seem to think the contrary.

White Pony maybe the most unexpected thing this band will ever do, but Diamond Eyes, while a bit predictable at times, is certainly a masterpiece alonside White Pony.

This band isn't Nu-Metal and never was, your review is cliche and sounds like most of the other negative Deftones reviews I've read.

riffraff on August 14, 2010, 12:57 PM

i agree there is no need to compare to mastodon as the bands have totally different musical sounds. the reviewer could justifiably say that the deftones are not visionary, or inventive and leave it at that. commercially viable music generally lacks those artistic qualities. those areana chant lyrics "guns cue tips kleenex" or wutever, are definitely cringeworthy. anyways, zzzzzzzzzzzz.

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