Deftones - "Diamond Eyes"

I'm a big fan of the Deftones.

I've got all of their albums, and yes "White Pony" is my favourite; despite this however, "Diamond Eyes" comes a very, very close second. A sort of return to form for the band (although they weren't exactly off form with previous release "Saturday Night Wrist"), "Diamond Eyes" is a perfect place for a newcomer to start off with.

An ethereal echo slowly fades in to a pummelling riff on opener "Diamond Eyes", Chino Moreno as brilliant as ever as his effortless vocals contrast with Carpenter's simple yet brutish guitar work. Heavier still is next track "Royal", with a breakdown similar to that off of "Saturday Night Wrist"'s "Beware", or in other words, head pounding.

"CMND/CTRL" is reminiscent of older material off of "Adrenaline", whilst "You've Seen the Butcher" and "Beauty School" offer the first (sort of) respite from the heaviness. The former contains some haunting percussion, with the latter containing some haunting lyrical content alongside a rather pop-punk drum beat. "Prince", with it's groovy bass line and drawn out vocals, then give way to the most accessible, but no less heavy, tracks off of the album.

"Rocket Skates" is the most straightforward song on the album, but also one of the most enjoyable. The crushing guitars pound down on you whilst Moreno's screech of "Guns, Razors, Knives!", whilst not the most subtle of lyrics, is almost deafening.

"Sextape", my favourite track off the album, is a ballad of sorts; whilst not the type of ballad you may be thinking of, it is certainly the most "relaxing" Deftones track I can think of.

here, the album kind of veers off. "Risk", 976-EVIL" and "This Place is Death" are all good tracks in their own right, but they end the album in a kind of average, yet still satisfying way. "Riverie" off of "Saturday Night Wrist" and "Change in the House of Flies" off of "White Pony" are in my opinion brilliant tracks to end an album with, yet the ones here seem a little... mediocre.

However, this doesn't detract from the fact that this is still a great record, and I recommend you listen to it and the rest of their material.

NOTE: Deftones originally planned to release the album "Eros", but bassist Chi Cheng suffered serious injuries in a car crash whilst the record was in progress. As the rest of the band's fans, I wish Cheng a speedy recovery.