Review Summary: even Enrique was an angsty teenager once.
It's 1995. You, an angst ridden teenager are looking for something new. Nirvana was good, but you need something angrier. Korn's s/t did a good job at first. But you need more. You need something else with equal, or even more intensity. You sift through the CD's. Almost disgusted by some of them. But something crosses your eye, you see this pink thing. You have no idea what the f*ck it is (an aspirator), but it intrigues you. Looking closer:
Deftones – Adrenaline, you've never heard of them but after looking at the back of the CD, with song names like
Bored,
One Weak and
Nosebleed you almost immediately purchase it. After tearing off the plastic and throwing the disc in your portable CD player that b*tch mom of yours bought you, the album begins...
Chu-chu-chu-chuggggg Hear me spit on you, wither I, remold into gold, and bury I from.... sun.. and BAM, you're hit by Stephen Carpenter's hard hitting riffs in the album opener
Bored. You have no clue what Chino is talking about with the abstractness of the lyrics sometimes, but for some reason you know exactly what he means. And the angry howls
I GET BOOORRRREEDDD makes it all the better. Then
Minus Blindfold comes on and you immediately get hooked again by the frantic, heavy riffs and pounding drums. As the song opens you immediately think of your dad, that asshole. And start to get more and more mad. You punch the brick wall to your left. It hurt like a bitch but you don't regret it. By now, you've realized you're in for a very heavy, very angry ride. As
Root rolls around you find yourself resisting the urge to break something as you walk back to the prison you call a “home”. Halfway through the album, you have yet to find a bad song. While all the songs may sound a bit samey, you don't notice. You're too busy resisting the urge to sing along trying to keep your cool. Being the heaviest album your young ears have heard, it is obviously quite an experience.
By
7 Words you can't resist, you chant along SUCK,SUCK,SUCK,SUCK,SUCK in an almost tribal chant as people look at you like you're f*cking crazy. But you don't care, all that matters to you is to listen to this more and more, and send many a fanmail to the band pleading for them to come to your small, sh*tty hometown. Everything about the band is tight, from Stephen Carpenter's guitars to Abe Cunningham's drums. Even Chi Cheng's bass sticks out, where most albums you've owned it is almost inaudible. But easily your favorite part is Chino Moreno's vocals. Whether it be his crooning in the majority of the verses, or his haunting screams in the chorus'. It is easily the most memorable part of the album. When
Engine No. 9 comes on you're walking in the door. Your father is home, you can't fathom dealing with him so you go straight to your room. He comes in screaming at you for some bullsh*t reason you don't care to hear. He rips off your headphones and that's the last straw. You pop his old
ass right in the mouth sending him flying back. He doesn't strike back. He just looks at you and in almost a whisper says “Get out of my house...” You respond “gladly..” and walk out. Your mother asking what happened before you slam the door in her face, get on your bike and ride.
You've got nowhere to go. But anywhere else is better then there. After going about a mile
Fireal is coming to an end, you almost start to feel bad about what you did. You almost miss home. It's only been 4 minutes and you already want to go back. But you don't want to give them the satisfaction. The album is over, or so you thought. The surreal secret song
Fist comes on. You're laying on a grassy hill now. Thinking about the album and what all had gone down today. You got kicked out of the house, and fell in love with a new band and album. Just another day. You close your eyes and slowly drift away. Oblivious to the world around you.
