Adrenaline at 28: How Deftones Has Carved Out an Astoundingly Innovative Place in the Music Industry
On October 3, 1995, Deftones released their debut album, Adrenaline. The album was heavily praised for its innovative and fresh sound - a sound that has consistently evolved across genres and throughout the band’s career. Often called the ‘Radiohead of metal’ due to their experimentation, Deftones’ artistic shape shifting has brought them acclaim as well as adoration from many in addition to their reputation for powerful artistry and innovation.
Deftones began in 1988 in Sacramento, California. The founding members, Chino Moreno, Abe Cunningham, and Stephen Carpenter, were all high school friends interested in various forms of music: post-punk, new wave, heavy metal, and hardcore punk (late bassist Chi Cheng was a later but crucial addition). Bands like Bad Brains, The Cure, Metallica, Primus, and Depeche Mode as well as various aspects of funk and rap influenced the band’s work. Adrenaline was a nu-metal record through and through, widely considered one of the first of its kind. The heavy riffs, hardcore breakdowns, and Moreno’s whispered vocals stood out to critics and fans alike as unique aspects of an emerging genre. Precision, rhythm, and rawness are the central qualities of the albums: the pulsing bassline of “One Weak”, the screaming / whispering vocal alternation of “Lifter”, and the dense rap-tinged “Engine No. 9”. Although the album was received well, it was only a debut effort - the band had a long way to go. Many songs have similar rhythms and share nearly every one of their qualities. The freshness of the album’s sound seemed to satisfy many, but its lack of variation demonstrated the band’s room for improvement. To support the album, the band played nationwide shows with Handsome, Korn, Super Eight, and opened for Kiss on their 1996-97 Alive/Worldwide tour. However, they had only scratched the surface of their musical career.
Around the Fur came in 1997, and with it remarkable recognition and commercial success. The band’s popularity increased through radio play and showings on MTV, with singles “My Own Summer (Shove It)” and “Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)” becoming most successful. Around the Fur’s sound is encompassed as a tone shift from Adrenaline. Its songs are more textured, the style more varied, the vocals more powerful. This tonal shift resulted in a stronger, more polished sound while still preserving the raw, harsh rhythms the band had become known for. The drawn-out, dark “Mascara”, the passionate, shoegaze-tinged “Dai the Flu”, and the fast-paced, intense title track are all tracks that stand out as indicators of the band’s sonic exploration. Within the coming years, unexpectedly, things would continue to change.
As the band’s career went on, they continued to push the boundaries of the genre they began in, incorporating elements of different genres into their work. 2000’s White Pony is their most successful album to date, considered their best by critics and fans. It marked a pivotal shift in Deftones’ music. Moreno began to experiment with more fantastical, dreamy lyricism as opposed to the upfront words of Adrenaline and Around the Fur. White Pony established the band as a powerhouse of innovation and talent, for once and for all. They steered in a different direction sonically as well: the post-metal sound faded into the background, as a more shoegaze-inspired blend took center stage. “Change (In the House of Flies)”, their most popular song, is swooping and concentrated, with a unique bassline and a focus on Moreno’s growled lines and soaring chorus. Post-White Pony, the band has released eight albums, including a compilation of covers that includes an iteration of “Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want” by The Smiths and “Sleep Walk” by Santo and Johnny. These covers are infused with the gritty, mysterious sound of the band’s best work. Their 2003 self-titled effort found the band back at their nu-metal roots; 2006’s atmospheric Saturday Night Wrist expanded on the shoegaze influence.
Deftones is not just a remarkably boundary-pushing band. The band has also influenced a wide spectrum of artists. Slipknot’s Corey Taylor has spoken about the band’s work: “Deftones, with White Pony, it was night-and-day from what they had done with Around The Fur or even the first album. So it was almost like they allowed bands like us and a ton of other bands to have the freedom to explore.” Musicians such as the Weeknd and Loathe have also cited Deftones as an influence on their music. The wide range of the band’s work and effect on music is due to very simple factors: their creativity, talent, and ability to think outside the box. Deftones changed not only the rock scene, but all of music by demonstrating how music doesn’t always have to depend on the same things: it can be whatever it needs to be.
