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Deftones (album)

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Deftones
Studio album by
Deftones
ReleasedMay 20, 2003 (2003-05-20)
RecordedMarch–October 2002
Studio
Genre
Length47:14
LabelMaverick
ProducerTerry Date
Deftones chronology
White Pony
(2000) 		Deftones
(2003) 		B-Sides & Rarities
(2005)
Deftones studio album chronology
White Pony
(2000) 		Deftones
(2003) 		Saturday Night Wrist
(2006)
Singles from Deftones
  1. "Minerva"
    Released: April 22, 2003
  2. "Hexagram"
    Released: August 26, 2003

Deftones is the fourth studio album by American alternative metal band Deftones, released on May 20, 2003, by Maverick Records. The album features a strong change in musical direction from the band's previous albums, ranging from some of their heavier compositions to moody trip hop and shoegaze influences. It was also the band's last release to be produced by Terry Date until Ohms in 2020.

Background

Originally titled Lovers, the album was instead given an eponymous title because singer Chino Moreno considered Lovers too obvious in relation to the context of its material (the former title song "Lovers" did appear as an A-side and B-side on the UK "Hexagram" single). Date was frustrated by the very slow pace of the band working in the studio.

Musical style

Deftones is an eclectic album, with songs spanning many different ideas in diverse genres. It has a much different feel than prior efforts, due in small part to Frank Delgado leaving his turntables behind and instead focusing on playing keyboards and synthesizers for a majority of the songs. Most of the album's songs make extensive use of the band's low G# tuning, resulting in some of the heaviest songs in the band's catalog. On the other hand, the track "Lucky You" is a dark, soft, trip hop-influenced piece featuring DJ Crook from Moreno's side project Team Sleep and vocalist Rey Osburn of Tinfed. A grand piano and toy piano were featured in the mournful "Anniversary of an Uninteresting Event."

In addition to trip hop influences, significant shoegaze elements have been noted on the album, especially in regards to the song "Minerva".[4][5][6]

Promotion

Deftones produced two singles, "Minerva" and "Hexagram." Music videos were shot for both singles as well as the track "Bloody Cape", which was also intended to be a single, but was released in limited editions for promotional purposes only.[7] The latter's video was only available on the band's official website for one day, but was later released on the DVD portion of the band's B-Sides & Rarities. As the lead single, "Minerva" featured a melodic, commercially viable sound and gained strong rotation on mainstream rock video programming. In contrast, the heavier, more abrasive sound of "Hexagram" landed it on metal-themed shows such as Uranium and Headbangers Ball.

"Battle-Axe" was featured in the video game Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2, while "Minerva" was featured in True Crime: Streets of LA, NHL 2004, House of Wax, and also as downloadable content for the Rock Band series.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic74/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Dotmusic8/10[3]
E! Online[9]
Entertainment WeeklyB[10]
Pitchfork4.7/10[12]
Playlouder[11]
Q[9]
Rolling Stone[2]
Spin[13]

Deftones received an aggregate rating of 74 on Metacritic, which indicated generally positive reviews.[9] However, the album was not as well received as its predecessor White Pony, and, at the time of its release, it received some reviews ranging from marginal to negative from critics. Upon its release, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic described the album as a disappointment compared to the rest of the band's catalogue.[1]

Q praised the album, giving it 4.5 out of 5 stars, stating, "In a genre considered creatively bankrupt, this is genuinely new metal".[9] Rolling Stone stated, "This is metal that crushes, then soothes; collapses, then soars... Deftones just blow open the possibilities".[2]

In 2016, Jonathan Dick of NPR Music retrospectively noted the album's "trip-hop nuances" and included the album as an example of Deftones' varied catalogue, stating that "Deftones' catalogue reads like a case study in how a band can translate influences into a sound that's definitively their own."[14] The track "Minerva" was placed at spot number 12 in Consequence of Sound's article "The Top 20 Deftones Song," with Jon Hadusek claiming that "[in] a way, Deftones brought shoegaze to the alternative metal mainstream with 'Minerva', a crushingly heavy, textured jam indebted to Siamese Dream-era Smashing Pumpkins and Hum [...]" Hadusek further stated that the track was "far-and-away the best track" of the self-titled album and that the track "hints at the dreamier directions" that Deftones would continue to explore.[4]

The A.V. Club gave the album a moderate score but criticized the band for returning to their heavy style, instead of the more soft and artistic style of its predecessor, White Pony.[15]

Spin also gave the album a marginal score, but complained about the album's notable darkness, saying, "On their fourth album, Deftones are sad as hell, and they're not gonna take it anymore; this is less an 11-song album than a single long-form mope".[13]

Pitchfork reacted negatively to the album, describing the album as pretentious and as a bizarre departure from their previous work, claiming "Deftones sounds more like a band in the throws of a mid-life crisis than a group of musicians that could be called the 'Radiohead of Metal'. This is music on the fence-post of popular pining and dulled experimentation, an anachronistic addition to an otherwise respectable discography, and it will be remembered as such."[16]

Playlouder gave the album a negative review, criticizing the album's droning melodic songwriting structures, proclaiming: "it's why this album almost completely fails to deliver on that promise. When Chino's not screaming, he's generally busy turning 'Deftones' into 'Tonedef', improvising a series of randomly-pitched moans which seem never to have shared so much as a rehearsal room with their generic metal backing, let alone a chord sequence."[11]

Betty Clarke of The Guardian negatively criticized the album for its melancholic tones and sulking lyrics on songs such as "When Girls Telephone Boys", "Battle-Axe", or "Hexagram", even claiming Moreno's lyrics ventured into immature territories, claiming "Songs skulk and sulk until they are almost unbearably claustrophobic.". Despite the negative reaction to the record overall; Clarke would express minor praise for the instrumental compositions on tracks such as "Minerva", "Needles and Pins", and "Bloody Cape".[17]

Frontman Chino Moreno during a 2020 interview with Metal Injection expressed his dissatisfaction of the album for both personal and musical reasons.[18]

Commercial performance

Deftones debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, behind Staind's 14 Shades of Grey, one spot higher than its predecessor. The album also debuted at No. 1 on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 10,700 copies in its first week of release in Canada.[19] The album sold 167,000 copies in its first week of release in America, outselling the previous album. Despite the strong initial sales; the album quickly failed to match overall sales of White Pony outside of its first month; with the band's label describing it as a commercial disappointment.[20][21] The album was certified gold by the RIAA on July 7, 2003.[22][23] To date, it was the highest-charting debut for any album by the band,[24] Deftones would manage to sell over 492,000 copies in the U.S. by 2005.[25]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Deftones except "Lucky You"; by Deftones and DJ Crook

No.TitleLength
1."Hexagram"4:09
2."Needles and Pins"3:23
3."Minerva"4:17
4."Good Morning Beautiful"3:28
5."Deathblow"5:28
6."When Girls Telephone Boys"4:36
7."Battle-Axe"5:01
8."Lucky You" (featuring Rey Osburn)4:10
9."Bloody Cape"3:38
10."Anniversary of an Uninteresting Event"3:57
11."Moana"5:02
Total length:47:09

Personnel

Deftones

Production

  • Terry Date – production, engineering and mixing
  • Greg Wells – co-production and arrangement
  • Kinski Gallo – additional photography
  • Sam Hofstedt – assistant engineering
  • Frank Maddocks – art direction and design
  • James R. Minchin III – band photography
  • Rey Osburn – additional vocals (on "Lucky You")
  • Pete Roberts – Pro Tools engineering and additional engineering
  • Nick Spanos – additional photography
  • Sean Tallman – assistant engineering
  • Tom Baker – mastering

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[50] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[51] Silver 60,000^
United States (RIAA)[22] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ a b c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Deftones - Deftones". AllMusic. Retrieved August 15, 2023. ...since even if the harder stuff is done well (again, better than their peers), it doesn't carry nearly as much promise as when Deftones don't play by the nu-metal reviews.
  2. ^ a b c "Deftones Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 12, 2007. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Watson, Ian. "Deftones Reviews". Dotmusic. Archived from the original on June 3, 2003. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
  4. ^ a b "The Top 20 Deftones Songs". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  5. ^ Unterberger, Andrew (April 4, 2016). "The SPIN Interview: Deftones". SPIN. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  6. ^ Gormely, Ian. "Deftones: Beauty and Brutality". Exclaim!. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  7. ^ ""Bloody Cape" Single on Discogs". Discogs.
  8. ^ "Deftones - Deftones Warner Brothers / Maverick Summary". Metacritic. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
  9. ^ a b c d "Deftones by Deftones". Metacritic.
  10. ^ "Deftones". ew.com. May 23, 2003. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  11. ^ a b "PLAYLOUDER - review - Deftones". June 24, 2003. Archived from the original on June 24, 2003. Retrieved June 7, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  12. ^ Bryant, Andrew. "Deftones: Deftones Review". Pitchfork. Pitchfork.com. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
  13. ^ a b "Deftones, 'Deftones' (Maverick) - SPIN". June 15, 2003.
  14. ^ Dick, Jonathan (May 3, 2016). "Deftones' Chino Moreno on Surviving, Evolving And 'Gore'". npr.org. NPR. Retrieved June 3, 2016. From the trip-hop nuances of its self-titled album in 2003 to the bleak math metal tendencies of 2006's Saturday Night Wrist to the goth-rock tinged shoegaze of 2010's Diamond Eyes to the prog-rock flirting of 2012's Koi No Yokan, Deftones' catalogue reads like a case study in how a band can translate influences into a sound that's definitively their own.
  15. ^ "Deftones: Deftones". The A.V. Club. June 3, 2003.
  16. ^ "Deftones: Deftones album review 6/27/2003".
  17. ^ "The Guardian: Reviews - Deftones 6/3/03".
  18. ^ "Chino Moreno Reviews Every DEFTONES Album, Including Ohms".
  19. ^ "Deftones, Staind shake up charts". Archived from the original on November 13, 2004. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  20. ^ "Rolling Stone: Deftones' Saturday Night Wrist".
  21. ^ "Happy 10th: Deftones, SATURDAY NIGHT WRIST".
  22. ^ a b "American album certifications – Deftones – Deftones". Recording Industry Association of America.
  23. ^ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (June 7, 2003). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  24. ^ https://www.billboard.com/artist/deftones/chart-history/
  25. ^ Billboard Staff (August 23, 2005). "Deftones Round Up Rarities For CD/DVD". Billboard. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  26. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Deftones – Deftones". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  27. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Deftones – Deftones" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  28. ^ "Ultratop.be – Deftones – Deftones" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  29. ^ "Ultratop.be – Deftones – Deftones" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  30. ^ "Deftones Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  31. ^ "Danishcharts.dk – Deftones – Deftones". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  32. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Deftones – Deftones" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  33. ^ "Deftones: Deftones" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  34. ^ "Lescharts.com – Deftones – Deftones". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  35. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Deftones – Deftones" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  36. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Deftones". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  37. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Deftones – Deftones". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  38. ^ "Charts.nz – Deftones – Deftones". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  39. ^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Deftones – Deftones". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  40. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Deftones – Deftones". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  41. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
  42. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Deftones – Deftones". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  43. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Deftones – Deftones". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  44. ^ "Deftones | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  45. ^ "Deftones Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  46. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2003". Billboard. January 2, 2013. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  47. ^ "Deftones Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  48. ^ "Deftones Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  49. ^ "Deftones | Charts | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved May 27, 2021. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  50. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Deftones – Deftones". Music Canada. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  51. ^ "British album certifications – Deftones – Deftones". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
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