Deftones - Diamond Eyes
 

Deftones - Diamond Eyes (2010)
 

Out of all the bands lumped in with the "nu metal" tag, Deftones are the guys I am still fiercely loyal to. They were always the most creative, and unafraid to try different things with their music. So, of course when their new album came out, I had to give it a listen.

Their music becomes more and more polished (that doesn't mean less heavy) with every release. Their last album, "Saturday Night Wrist", had some moments, but was generally a weak album compared to their others (namely "Around the Fur" and "White Pony"). I was expecting a return to form with this album, and though I find it to be stronger than the last, I'm feeling like there is something missing. Just something. And then I remember. Poor old Chi Cheng is in a coma! That guy adds more to the music than I previously gave him credit for. Instead we are left with some guy named Sergio Vega from some band called Quicksand.

They are definitely mining a refined "Around the Fur" vibe here. The hope that they can top "White Pony" at this point seems futile. But, it is still enjoyable. All of the songs are pretty solid, decently heavy, and subtly addictive. For some reason, I find "You've Seen the Butcher" really really addictive. I just wish Stephen Carpenter would move past his chugging power chord riffs. I know the guy can get creative when he tries, but he just refuses to develop. His riffs aren't bad, it's just I'm left feeling that I've heard this riff before.

For the sake of discussion, I'm not going to give this album a score. Just know that if you've heard their single "Rocket Skates", I actually find it to be one of the weakest tracks on the album. My favorites are the previously mentioned "You've Seen the Butcher", "Sextape" (nice and chill...something the Deftones should think about exploring more), and the title track. Give it a listen and let us know what you think!

Actually, now that I think about it...when a mod sees this can we get a poll for Excellent/Good/Average/Poor/Stay the hell away? Thanks!

omg... I didn't even know it was out.
And I'm a Deftones fan. *cries*

What the hell.. I feel estranged from humanity.
I'll get it asap.

Oh god damn it....I posted in the wrong damn section.

http://www.musicbanter.com/album-rev...es-2010-a.html

I had that up a few days ago and was a little bit sad no one commented on it.

After having listened to Diamond Eyes today I must say... I'm very impressed. This album beats the hell out of Saturday Night Wrist in so many ways and I'm sure the more I listen to it, Diamond Eyes is going to edge near the top of my favorite Deftones albums.

There's literally only one song I didn't like right off the bat, and I only gave the album a once-through... After I give it a couple more listens, I'll have a more definite opinion but as it stands, this album both surprised and amazed me and although I don't know what Eros sounded like, it's obvious that their decision to rewrite the 6th album was a good one.

I'm definitely going out and buying the physical album.

I gotta pick this up! Been anxiously awaiting it but haven't decided whether I want to buy it or download it first. Can't do the later till my computer's back in order...but I can't wait to hear this. Might just go buy the CD this weekend, I own all the others why stop now?

That's good to hear. I like the song alright but it's not amazing or anything, so I look forward to hearing better tracks on this album.


I didn't know he was the temporary (or permanent?) replacement. I like Quicksand.

I assume you're heard Team Sleep?

Dude... just go and buy it.
I own all the others as well and I tell you what, you're going to do it anyway. Might as well smell that nice new album smell when you open the packaging and read the jacket with total anticipation.
I sorta wish I did that now. :(
I still need to pick up the physical album. I had to burn a RW in the interim so I could listen in my car without having to use my USB drive.

I have and I really enjoy Team Sleep. If they could add more of those elements while keeping a hard edge, they could have another White Pony on their hands.

As far as Sergio Vega, he's been a friend of Deftones for a while and has filled in as bassist for them before, so there's a history. It's not just a random dude from a random band.

And yea, I actually didn't like Rocket Skates as much as the rest either. Although I think the last track is the weakest (This Place Is Death).
Those are probably the only two songs I don't really "look forward to hearing" if you know what I mean. The rest of the album, I find myself loving the song that's on, and simultaneously wanting to skip it just to hear the other songs I love.
It's, for me, a very rewarding listening experience.
The last album, Saturday Night Wrist, was totally the opposite and, in my opinion, their worst album.
I'm so glad this album is good enough to be a redeemer.

Mmmm nice new album smell...if only I had a car! Don't really have time to bus out to the record store this weekend...we'll see. I suppose I need a break from work at some point. :D

I agree with you both (and nearly everyone out there) that Saturday Night Wrist was pretty weak (despite the awesome artwork), so it's nice to hear this album get such positive feedback (here and elsewhere).

Like I said, this album is no "Around the Fur" or "White Pony", but it is definitely a worthy addition to their material. I am very interested to hear what "Eros" sounds like, which we should get if Chi ever recovers.

God willing.

But I actually think this album has a lot of the tone from both of those previous albums. I don't hear their self-titled anywhere in it.. which may or may not be a good thing... but I might be a little biased because my favorite Deftones song comes from their self-titled. "Anniversary of an uninteresting event". (Followed by Passenger from White Pony, of course)

My favorite album is a toss up between Adrenaline and White Pony, for two different reasons, but I'm actually glad that Diamond Eyes didn't really repeat either of them. With 3 really good albums under your belt and two so-so albums, being able to draw from each of the good ones is a good idea for a new album and I'm glad they didn't draw from the lesser albums so much.

I really enjoyed the s/t as well...in fact, Saturday Night Wrist is the only album of theirs that I didn't really get into all that much. You could tell with their s/t they had no idea where to go after White Pony, so it was an album of extremes. They either went ridiculously heavy (Hexagram) or insanely light and trippy (Lucky You). It was a confused album, but produced some really great songs.

I really enjoyed the self-titled also, I didn't really find it too confusing. It seemed kind of more straight-forward after White Pony.

I heard said song on the radio yesterday night and was pretty impressed. Deftones are a tough band for me to get into but having heard Diamond Eyes, I will certainly give the album a proper listen. Hopefully opening the door to their previous albums, which I've heard I am missing out now... if only I could get into them.

Yea the song itself is good... the album itself is what's impressive.
I wasn't expecting as much due to the last album.

Picked it up today, listening now and enjoying. :)

I decided to make a quick trip the record store before heading into the office today...well my store of choice was out of stock! Pisser, as I have a club card there and would have gotten a stamp. So I go to another record store a few blocks away...it seemed expensive ($13.99) so I didn't get it. A friend on another forum had said earlier in the week he got it at Target because it was on sale (didn't mention the price though) so I figured I'd head there, as I needed a few other things anyway. Took the bus, wasting more time before I get work done. Couldn't find it at first, started to wonder if it was a sign! Finally found it and it was $13.99. :( Got it anyway.

Hmm 'Sextape' is on now...not sure I like the softness of it.

Give us the full report after you listen to the whole thing... then another after you listen to it a few more times. :D
For me, I didn't like Sextape that much at first, but it grew on me quickly.

I think I'll have to give it a few more listens before any kind of report. It's possible that Sextape will grow one me, I didn't hate it or anything...it was just a softer vocal style that caught my attention.

Fair enough. Will be looking forward to your thoughts on it. :)

I'll give it a chance,though the only song I like from them is "Changes".The rest are pretty bad.

You mean Change (in the house of flies)
That's a good one.
You didn't like Passenger, from White Pony, featuring Maynard J.K. from Tool?
The song is beast.

I listened to the whole entire Album of that one,I didn't like it at all.

Different strokes for different folks, as the saying goes.

I still have hope for even some of the bands I hate to the core,but Deftones is not there yet.

So I still have hope I'll like them in the future.

I'll be rooting for you.

Any way to merge this and the New Release Rating thread? Or kill the poll from this one?

'CMND/CTRL' is pretty awesome. :)

You should like the song 'You've Seen The Butcher' at least. :D I like this one.

Deftones bring back a hell of a lot of memories from when I was a kid (my brother loved them) so I'll definitely be checking this out.

Okay, so I literally just finished listening to this album less than 5 minutes ago....I'm actually going into "replay" mode and listening again to some of my favorite tracks off of the album. Honestly, I'm really liking the album as a whole. There wasn't any one song I couldn't outright not stand to finish (there's usually 1 in an album!).... even the "weakest" song to me (which ended up being CMND/CTRL after 1st impressions) was still listenable. I didn't really have high hopes either, especially because I've been let down lately with much of what some of my favorite bands have released.

Maybe it's the amazing effect the song "Beauty School" has on me, which I'm listening to right now and am positive is going in my top 5 of theirs favorite songs, but I think this is going to be an album I listen to often for a while and will come back to regularly. I don't think this will be 1 of those albums which will sit and collect dust in my iTunes library.

I rated the songs as I went along, and honestly "Beauty School" and "SexTape" got the highest, with many like "Diamond Eyes", "Risk", and "You've Seen the Butcher" getting really good ratings too. So yeah, I'm really liking this album.

You want me to merge this with the other one? If I have your permission I can do it that way, but the other way around I'll need the permission from the other author.

Well, where does everyone prefer this to be? New Releases or Reviews?

Oh right! I was thinking this was sidewinder's thread for some reason.
I'm good either way though.

Well, I don't mind either way. So merge away.

:laughing: I was surprised you were asking for my permission.

Deftones! diamond eyes...
 

I just bought the cd, some of abe cunninghams best work! Of course they all did an awesome job, they stuck to there original style, and still havnt changed, love it! favorite right now is beauty school... What do you think?

I still don't have a definitive opinion yet, but 'CMND/CTRL' is easily my favorite song...

I'm edging towards that one too... it's so pleasantly different from the rest of the album, and a lot of their other work, but in a way that works well.