Posts Tagged ‘Deftones’
Eminem “Recovery” Album Review
What started as a relapse led to a recovery – and possibly the rebirth of a recently directionless career.
It takes a lot of guts as an artist to scrap an entire body of work that is almost completed in favor of starting anew with a clean slate because the old material simply didn’t reflect who you are at the present. Deftones recently were in such a predicament due to the serious injuries suffered by one of their members. But that’s a much different situation than the one facing Eminem.
Em himself writes off his most recent work in “Talkin’ 2 Myself,” saying, “them last two albums didn’t count/Encore I was on drugs, Relapse I was flushin’ ‘em out/I’ve come to make it up to you now no more fuckin’ around.”
And anyone who’s seen a minute of Celebrity Rehab knows that when you’re on drugs and in the spotlight, some stupid shit can happen and proper decision-making processes probably aren’t happening. That’s why it’s so commendable that Eminem was actually able to step back and take an objective look at his own situation, decide that he wasn’t on top of his game, and change courses.
The narrative surrounding Deftones’ newest album, Diamond Eyes, is that it was written for Chi Cheng, the band’s bassist who has been in a coma since November 2008 after a horrible car crash. But I don’t think that’s really a fair assessment. Sure, the band has dedicated the album to him and some of the lyrics seem to hint at the situation, but this album is more of a cathartic rejuvenation for the entire band rather than a eulogy to a fallen comrade.
It might make for a better story to think that each song contains some deep meaning about the group’s feelings for Chi, but I just don’t think that’s the case. Instead, his terrible accident seems to have brought the group closer together, hardening their resolve and providing new clarity to their mission. Their brother may be struggling, but he’s not gone yet. So why skip right to the commemoration?
So what did Deftones do? They unleashed a defining record, free of any woe-is-me sentiments, that combines all the best elements of their unique sound and that serves as a stunning reminder that this band is back and isn’t going anywhere.
Unfortunately, I missed out on the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival that was this past weekend, but if the rumors are true (and by all appearances, they are) hard rock and metal fans nationwide have an incredible tour to look forward to in the fall.
How incredible, you ask?
Does the no-filler, all-killer heavyweight lineup of Alice in Chains, Deftones, and Mastodon spark your interest? I thought so. That’s three major headliners all on the same bill for one ticket! “YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!” Seriously, how do they choose the headliner for that tour? I’d imagine it would be AIC, but maybe they’d rotate each night?
In any case, the rumors started when a new website with the domain name blackdiamondskye.com sprung up recently with a countdown to a “secret” tour announcement. A little common sense when looking at the domain name would already lead you in the direction of figuring out who’s on the bill. It’s a reference to each of the three band’s latest albums (AIC – Black Gives Way To Blue, Deftones – Diamond Eyes, Mastodon – Crack The Skye). Furthermore, smnnews.com reported that the site was registered with an @velvethammer.net email address. Velvet Hammer is the management group for both AIC and Deftones. So yeah, this is pretty legit.
There’s been two teaser videos posted on YouTube (here and here), and each clearly features some edited clips of the music and/or images of each band. It is expected that the tour will be officially announced this Thursday.
Oh, and if that weren’t enough…Tool has started announcing summer tour dates! Maybe they’ll have some new music ready to test out by then.
-Sam
Deftones have already released the song “Rocket Skates” as a free download, and it rocks – hard.
Now they’ve debuted their new video for the song on YouTube.
Check it:
-Sam
Here’s a sampling of some interesting stuff going on in the world of metal:
* Mudvayne has debuted their new video for the song “Beautiful and Strange.” It’s the second video in a three part series. And it didn’t take long for the video to be banned from all major outlets. One viewing and you’ll understand why. Censors don’t usually take kindly to buried-alive fallen angels digging up the graves of surprisingly full-chested naked, dead women and then proceeding to mount them and bang them silly all while images of torture and a girl actually getting her lips sewed together flash on screen. But hey, that’s fuckin’ metal! Go watch the necrophiliac’s dream over on VampireFreaks.com.
* Killswitch Engage have a new song, “My Obsession,” on the new God of War video game. Stream it at Noisecreep. (It’s really good.)
* Check out the cover art for Sevendust’s new album, Cold Day Memory, and prepare to be severely underwhelmed. Seriously, that’s the best you could come up with?
* Deftones have released the track list for their new album, Diamond Eyes.
* If anyone (like me) was hoping Limp Bizkit might return to the sound of their first album and/or their last album (aka more emphasis on the band, less on Fred Durst and rapping) this news should dash those hopes: Rappers Raekwon and Paul Wall will both have guest appearances on Gold Cobra.
* Dutch violin player, Karianne Brouwer, has a really cool cover of Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters”:
http://www.vimeo.com/9758791-Sam
Time to strap on your “Rocket Skates”
Deftones are giving away their new song “Rocket Skates” as a free download. (Note: I was experiencing some difficulty trying to download the track from their site earlier, but I’m sure they’ll get it fixed.) The song is off their upcoming album, Diamond Eyes, which will be released on May 18.
And I must say, they sound good. Real good. This song is better than anything on Saturday Night Wrist. Is the song repetitive? Sure. But when you’re just locking into a dynamite sludgy Stephen Carpenter guitar riff, it’s fine to repeat yourself.
Go download it or listen to it on YouTube.
“Guns, Razors, Knivesss. . . WOO!”
-Sam
Deftones have marked May 18th on the calendar as the day they will release their new album.
The band has dubbed the effort Diamond Eyes.
Speaking about the lyrical content on the new album, singer Chino Moreno had this to say:
I do very little singing about myself on this record. I love songs where I can totally take myself out of being human. I can sing about really odd things, and they don’t necessarily have to pertain to me at all. It paints a picture.
That quote is at least somewhat ironic since a lot of Deftones’ past lyrics are about “really odd things.” As for the sound of the album, Moreno said that it’s not going to stray far from the unique “aggressive overtones and lush openness” that have marked their work from the very beginning. He said to expect a mix of both heavy songs and experimental tracks.
The band will be giving away the song “Rocket Skates” off the new album for free on February 23 at their website. For now, they’ve posted a teaser for the song on YouTube.
-Sam
It’s been a tough couple of years for Deftones.
They last released an album in October 2006. Two years later, just as they were preparing to release their new album, Eros, bassist Chi Cheng was involved in a car crash that left him seriously injured and in a semi-conscious state. He’s yet to come out of the coma and leave the hospital.
Naturally, this tragic event derailed any plans the band had made, and they decided to indefinitely delay the release of Eros. At the time, the band released a statement saying that Eros‘ delay had nothing to do with Chi’s injury: “The decision to hold off on releasing Eros has no connection with Chi’s condition or anything associated. This was, and is, purely a creative decision by the band to write, record, and deliver an amazing product.” But it was obviously hard to take such a statement at face value.
Now, in a new interview with Spin.com, singer Chino Moreno reveals what everybody already assumed:
With everything we were going through, the Deftones needed to pour all of our thoughts, energy, and emotions into something new… something more optimistic. I couldn’t tour behind a record with all these memories of Chi attached to it.
Realizing that the band couldn’t stay dormant forever, they recruited Sergio Vega, formerly of the band Quicksand, to be their new bassist in Chi’s absence. Since then, the band has been working on a new album, entirely separate from Eros (which will still get released one day). They’ve written 11 songs and plan to release the album, the band’s sixth, in May.
Thus far, two track names have been revealed – “Rocket Skates” and “Nylons and Suspenders”. For a taste of “Rocket Skates” check out this video of the band performing it live at this year’s SmokeOut Festival.
-Sam