Diamond Eyes

Forced changes in Deftones

The American rock-band Deftones has always been known for keeping long intervals between studio releases. Since the very start, it has always been taking them two and sometimes even three years to prepare a new record. However, the time distance between their last-to-date long player, Diamond Eye, and the previous effort, Saturday Night Wrist, equals nearly four years. Yet none of the team’s fans would blame them for this. Deftones were set to release a totally different record with completely different material. That work was named Eros and had to be released much earlier. But it never was. And the reason is a harrowing accident that involved the band’s bassist Chi Cheng. A severe brain injury nailed the man down to bed in come for a very long term, which forced Deftones to postpone the release of Eros. Cheng was replaced by Sergio Vega who already assisted the band a decade ago. The coming up of a new musician, albeit having so far a temporary status, evidently boosted the whole outfit. They got down to recording new songs while the music itself went through considerable changes. The first result of the massive work done by Deftones with the newcomer is Diamond Eyes.

Storm of emotions and gale of aggression

Diamond Eyes hit the road without preparations, warming up or warnings. The eponymous first track demolishes the silence with confident guitar riffs from Stephen Carpenter backing perfectly Chino Moreno’s vocals. The listener is getting drawn deeper into the swirl as track number two Royal plays and when its follower, CMND/CTRL, begins. All the three are short speedy songs with their melodies replacing each other so fast you can’t give a sign of relief. The first break is given to you at the beginning of You’ve Seen The Butcher; but half a minute later, you are smashed by guitars as furious as the singer’s mad screaming. This is only Beauty School that slows down the tempo a little bit. Soon, you will hear the quickest and the angriest song of the album, Rocket Skates. The musicians slew the melody for the sake of the speed and heaviness to produce the insane piece for violent headbaning. The last songs are slightly similar as they are slower than the first ones. They are less emotional and make you feel as if the album is preparing for sleep. The contrast between the two halves of the record gives it several more points.

The new life of Deftones

Presenting this CD, Moreno said that the band could not have released Eros instead of this one. Because this is namely Diamond Eyes, he said, that mirrors the ensemble’s mood and indicates the direction the musicians chose to follow now. The recruiting of the new member became was almost like the second birth of the whole band. All the material of the fresh album is played so vigorously, so passionately that it sounds like a debut work of a young group of musicians who try to showcase their competitiveness. It has been long since Deftones last released a work as impressive as this one. The CD’s duration is a only a little but more than forty minutes, yet this is just fine for the music these men do. Finally, it is hard not to say a few words about the cover of the CD. It is an excellent work with contrast in its center. This is contrast between silence and music, apathy and passion. It is music as loud as it can be, and vocals as desperate as they can be. And it’s the lyrics of a man who is on the edge. This is all about Diamond Eyes. Nothing more to add to it. Instead of describing it, you better do the listening.