Chapter VI: Realignment with a Price to Pay
With the release of one of their most acclaimed records, it marked the return of their unity as a band and as friends. However, despite this glimmer of hope that the band displayed here, this newfound unity came with a hefty price to pay and that proved to be the crippling car accident that Chi suffered. No one could have predicted how this unfortunate turn of events would make the band sit down and put everything into perspective. This marked the beginning of their more mature recording style that involved everyone finally being in the same room with each other and just playing to see what they would come up with. Sure enough, within a month or two,
Diamond Eyes was ready to be revealed to the world with the help of their replacement bassist Sergio Vega. Unlike their previous effort,
Saturday Night Wrist, Deftones’ sixth studio album boasted a more focused approach driven by repetition and a skillful combination of post metal and traditional alternative metal. Though the album’s repetition certainly isn’t for everyone, their musicianship really shines through with this album, further solidifying their stance as the titans of their genre.
While the album places more of an emphasis on repetition, even more of a focus proves to be placed on Chino’s ever so cryptic lyrics and Abe’s masterful drumming. Aided by an engrossing atmosphere filled with repeating riffs and their newfound shoegaze/post metal vibe, Chino exclaims how the stars realigned with his emotionally stirring vocals in the title track and the glorious balance between musicianship and atmosphere is in top form. Despite “CMND/CTRL” being the lone dud throughout with Chino's notably irritating delivery and the complete lack of anything musically interesting , the album only manages to get better as the listener delves deeper. “Royal” proves to be even heavier than the title track with Chino’s gut wrenching vocals, Abe’s tight drumming and Stephen’s engaging guitar work. In fact, most of the record gives the listener what the band arguably does best and that is delivering a hard hitting atmosphere bursting at the seams with substance and character. “Prince,” one of the album’s definite highlights, exists as one of the band’s best songs yet with Chino’s amazing lyrics, chilling screams, and Abe’s fantastic drum rolls. Sergio also manages to shine through here with a simple yet engaging bass riff that aids the song’s brooding atmosphere. “Rocket Skates” also possesses the same qualities with guitar work that will stay in the listener’s heads for days.
In addition to the album’s exemplary heaviness,
Diamond Eyes also excels at slowing things down a bit to take everything all in with some of the band’s best slower songs to date. No one should be fooled by how “Sextape” is wrongfully titled. Despite its ironic title, this track exists as the band’s most soothing work with stirring bass and guitar work providing a tranquil terrain for Chino’s passionate vocals. Whether the song be about sex or just the idea of being with the person you love in general, the song is nonetheless beautiful and certainly manages to move the listener. “976-Evil” also provides more of that beautiful atmosphere showcased in “Sextape” with a bit of a heavier approach. The band’s passionate performance here is simple yet extremely effective and “This Place is Death” proves to be no exception. From these song’s engaging vocals to their exceptional delivery of fantastic musicianship, they prove to be awesome ways to end one of their most critically acclaimed albums.
While the record certainly isn’t flawless with Sergio’s occasionally inaudible bass and the blemish known as “CMND/CTRL,”
Diamond Eyes features some of the band’s most accomplished work to date and unlike their even more masterful predecessor, the album happens to be more focused and unified. The loss of Chi was what it took to make the band see how they were beginning to lose themselves in the process of recording their music. Eros was appropriately set aside for an indefinite period of time to craft something more uplifting than usual and the result is spectacular. Deftones’ adapted a new recording style of simply just jamming out to see what happens and at the same time, enjoying what they were born to do. The refreshing part of about this is that even though their newfound unity and happiness came with a price, their brilliance still carries over into their next album which even further solidifies their name.
