BWAAAAAAGGGHHH
Chino's voice is ear sex with just the right amount of distortion-pedal sound on it here, and the clean guitar riff has an incredible tone that I don't think anyone but Stephen Carpenter can quite nail. The "aaaAAAAaaaa" bits are instantly enthralling, and the lyrics involving actual words are just the right mixture of haunting and cryptic. The guitar parts in the chorus have this gorgeous shoegaze-ish sound that always made Deftones stick out, and the misty atmospheric synth sounds are a thing of beauty. This is the kind of thing is something only Deftones can pull off: the atmospheric nocturnal pull of trip-hop, the expertly-judged brooding of post-punk and goth rock, the vast textures of shoegaze, and the roiling emotional bloodletting of post-hardcore all on a weighty metal foundation (with some djent coming in over time too). They really are one of a kind. And still cranking out great albums to this day - all due respect to the other bands here, but I don't think any of them could credibly claim that they made their second-best album in 2012.
AND FUCKING LAST RESORT IS STILL IN?!
(Oh yeah, "Points of Authority" was pretty unfair too. Mike's intro rap is iconic: Lord knows he's not exactly Nas when it comes to dropping verses, but something about him just works with Chester's voice. Some more great electronics and scratch work there as well, Joe Hahn was always the band's biggest asset.)
Chino's voice is ear sex with just the right amount of distortion-pedal sound on it here, and the clean guitar riff has an incredible tone that I don't think anyone but Stephen Carpenter can quite nail. The "aaaAAAAaaaa" bits are instantly enthralling, and the lyrics involving actual words are just the right mixture of haunting and cryptic. The guitar parts in the chorus have this gorgeous shoegaze-ish sound that always made Deftones stick out, and the misty atmospheric synth sounds are a thing of beauty. This is the kind of thing is something only Deftones can pull off: the atmospheric nocturnal pull of trip-hop, the expertly-judged brooding of post-punk and goth rock, the vast textures of shoegaze, and the roiling emotional bloodletting of post-hardcore all on a weighty metal foundation (with some djent coming in over time too). They really are one of a kind. And still cranking out great albums to this day - all due respect to the other bands here, but I don't think any of them could credibly claim that they made their second-best album in 2012.
AND FUCKING LAST RESORT IS STILL IN?!
(Oh yeah, "Points of Authority" was pretty unfair too. Mike's intro rap is iconic: Lord knows he's not exactly Nas when it comes to dropping verses, but something about him just works with Chester's voice. Some more great electronics and scratch work there as well, Joe Hahn was always the band's biggest asset.)