Top 33 Deftones Songs
Was originally planning on 30 but I found it too difficult to leave a few off.
So 33. |
| 33 | Deftones
Combat
The intro is a bit long, but I wouldn't have it any other way. |
| 32 | My Own Summer (Shove It)
SHOVE IT SHOVE IT SHOVE IT |
| 31 | Diamond Eyes
Fucking Meshuggah riffs. |
| 30 | Elite
Heavy. |
| 29 | MX
Those female vocals are sexy in a bit of a masochistic kind of way. |
| 28 | Gauze
Gauze harkens back to Diamond Eyes moreso than any other track on KNY, but ups
the quality a notch or two with Carpenter's subtle, angular riffs. |
| 27 | Teenager
Teenager works incredibly well as the median between the more straightforward first
half of White Pony, and the more drawn-out moody second half. It's also incredibly
pretty by itself, for what it's worth. |
| 26 | Pink Maggit |
| 25 | Sextape
My only gripe with this song is the lack of distortion in the chorus, I think it would
have added a little extra power behind this dainty, but undeniably gorgeous song. |
| 24 | Beauty School
This is another song where Abe supplies a mostly simple, but really interesting drum
beat as the song's backbone. |
| 23 | Anniversary of an Uninteresting Event
I've always been allured to this one, it's certainly a bit anomalic as far as Deftones
songs go. |
| 22 | Bloody Cape
Perhaps the heaviest singular riff in the Deftones' discog. Oh, and Chino's freakout at
the end is sickening. |
| 21 | Around the Fur
The best of Sleazy, groovy, nu-metal Deftones. |
| 20 | When Girls Telephone Boys
Interesting how I've ordered several of their heaviest songs one-after-the-other. Hm. |
| 19 | Royal
The compactness of Diamond Eyes makes for some really brisk, heavy bursts of
energy, none of them being more satisfying than the three-minute "Royal." |
| 18 | Poltergeist
Clapping in 7 to open the song? Who do Deftones think they are, the Pat Metheny
Trio? |
| 17 | Rats! Rats! Rats!
Possibly the most sickeningly heavy Deftones have become; and it comes on what
cumulatively may be their most subdued record. I'm not sure how Chino makes
some of the sounds he does here without a pterodactyl. |
| 16 | Leathers
One of the most powerful choruses the band have ever written surrounded by
unspectacular verses and bridges. The scream before the final chorus is fucking
vicious. |
| 15 | You've Seen the Butcher
With groove so hard you'd think Deftones were PERIFFERY. |
| 14 | Battle-Axe
One of the definite highlights on a bit of an odd album. Moderately-paced and distant. |
| 13 | Lotion
This is my favorite Glassjaw song. But really, Lotion is an interesting track for
Deftones on Around the Fur in that it resembles a hardcore song more than a nu-
metal track. |
| 12 | Kimdracula
A bit of a silly song name perhaps, but the song is anything but a gimmick.
Kimdracula is actually one of the more unique songs in Deftones catalogue in that it's
fairly simple, features mostly cleanly sung upper-register vocals from Chino, and
doesn't stray from its mid-paced moody romp. Its consistent focus contributes to ne
of Deftones' shortest, but most easily gratifying pieces of music. |
| 11 | U,U,D,D,L,R,L,R,A,B, Select, Start
Man, I really wish Deftones had more atmospheric songs in the vain of this one, but
then again, maybe that'd make the song's existence less esoteric (lessoteric?) I've
found myself utterly entranced by this song on many an occasion; It's especially
cathartic to listen to on long, rainy night drives; medicine for existential ennui. |
| 10 | Passenger
I think they got Dave Grohl to do guest vocals on this song or something I don't
remember really though. |
| 9 | Hexagram
Th chorus has always vexed me with its aggressive lack of direction, but it somehow
makes sense when splicing the ludicrously powerful verses. Chino's got some pretty
ferocious roars here. |
| 8 | Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)
A delightful gem offering a sneak-preview of the atmospheric qualities that Deftones
would begin expanding upon on albums that followed Around the Fur. |
| 7 | Entombed
Entombed may be the prettiest song Deftones have ever written; sublime. |
| 6 | Change (In the House of Flies)
One of the most powerful courses in Deftones' entire discography. |
| 5 | Beware
Saturday Night Wrist had palpable atmospheric aesthetic of dread embedded within
several of the tracks, this one being of note in particular. Beware is one of Deftone's
longest tracks, eclipsing the six-minute mark, but it's quite simple structurally. The
band remains mostly subdued and allows Chino to do his thing, hitting some of
highest notes recorded during the titular cry in the chorus. In contrast the rest of the
song, the outro is fucking heavy as fucking fuck. |
| 4 | Rosemary
A slow-burning monolith that would have fit in nicely with the self-titled/SNW era of
Deftones. Not coincidentally, their best song since then. The outro is a delightful burst
of airy catharsis from the churning wall of riff preceding. |
| 3 | Digital Bath
Abe lays down another one of his tight hip-hop grooves to kick off another sprawling
shoegazey verse. Chino sounds particularly ominous here, with his wailing of "I feel
like more" during the second chorus being especially notable. |
| 2 | Cherry Waves
Heavy Deftones is fantastic, but I've mentioned that I find Deftones at their best
when they ditch their heaviness, instead focusing on emitting dreary ambiance.
Cherry Waves is a prime example of sinister, melodic Deftones. The instrumentation
of the song elicits beautiful imagery from the lyrics - especially with Chi's wading
bass in the verse and how Carpenter's distortion fully overcomes the rest of the band
in the chorus while Chino simultaneously narrates on actual waves enveloping a
body. Chino's undulation on the single word, "you", in the chorus is pristinely done,
and elicits a bittersweet reaction when analyzed with the question Chino proposes. "If
you would sink down beneath, I'd swim down. Would you?" |
| 1 | Knife Party
Knife Party has really struck the proverbial chord with me since my very first listen
several years ago. There might not be one single-song that better exemplifies the
archetypes of Deftones' music than this one. What really elevates Knife Party to the
prestigious number one spot for me though, goes beyond the immersive shoe gazing
verses or the punchy, irate chorus; Rodleen Getsic's guest appearance as a wailing,
apparitionistic voice is absolutely chilling, and adds a much more palpable feeling of
terror to compliment Chino's ambiguous portrayal of violence and erotica.
Enthrallingly powerful. |
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