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Rating: Although overall it's not a bad album, it doesn't exceed the "quite good" threshold and consequently, especially considering the expectations that had been created, in the end, it is a disappointment. Maybe it's because I always expect the best from Deftones.
But let's proceed in order:
"Hole in the earth"
One of the best tracks on the album. It starts with a powerful metal riff which then dissolves into harmonic arpeggios that accompany Chino's melancholic voice, continuing this way even in the chorus where Stephen's sound becomes more intense and decisive, accompanied by Delgado's effects. A great success of the new sound they want to present to us. Rating: 8
"Rapture"
Very powerful song. Structured almost entirely on heavy riffs with here and there some harmonic interludes. Featuring an Abe like no other. Perhaps a bit repetitive. The chorus hits hard. In this song too, Delgado's contribution is essential. Rating: 7.5
"Beware"
Very slow and harmonic in structure, but with a really heavy sound, thanks to Delgado's synth and Chi's filtered bass, yet at the same time elegant and clean, with keyboard arpeggios that accompany almost the entire song. The drums are used solely as accompaniment. In the end, everything regresses into an adrenaline spasm. Another good example of the new Deftones sound. Rating: 6.5
"Cherry Waves"
And here the painful notes begin. It seems to start well, with very dark sounds reminiscent of the Cure, but then everything flows into a melodic line almost tiring and exacerbated by the fact that the song has a very, very calm rhythm. Although the meticulous attention to sounds is noticeable, the basic idea, this improvisation of sound taken to the extreme making it seem almost an exercise in style, remains very difficult to assimilate. Rating: 4.5
"Mein"
Although it starts with a very beautiful and elegant structure to the ear, it has sudden rhythm changes, which, although a bit hard to digest, could have been developed better, but the result is nothing special, also due to Chino's vocal line which in these passages is not the best. Surely Serj Tankian adds his touch to this song, with his beautiful voice that couldn't have been more suitable for the occasion, although it is used little. Horrible ending. Rating: 5
"u, u, d, d, l, r, l, r, a, b, select, start"
Instrumental track but the best song on the album. The beautiful arpeggios of Stephen blend with Abe's drums which in this track delivers one of his best melodic performances. The result is a slow hypnotic melody that caresses the eardrums. To be listened to with eyes closed. Rating: 10
"Xerces"
Another clear example of how Frank Delgado's role, often considered useless for the band, is instead fundamental for the success of the Deftones sound, which I can say without exaggeration, is unique in its genre. Listen to this song and listen to it until your eardrums wear out because it's a remarkably beautiful track. One of the sweetest things that the genius mind of the Californian quintet could produce. Frank's synth surely takes the lead but every member contributes. Chino's singing couldn't be more beautiful and appropriate for a wonderful melody. Rating: 10
"Rats! Rats! Rats!"
One of those cases where the band seems to have lost the inventiveness that characterized it initially. Surely this atrocity is the worst thing ever conceived by Chino and company. A powerful metal riff reused ad nauseam with a chorus that has nothing to do with the rest, which could have made some sense, but unfortunately, like the rest of the song, sucks, it seems almost thrown there to cover the holes of the track. The only positive note is Abe's excellent execution, perhaps one of the best, but insufficient to make the piece worthy of the band. Rating: 1
"Pink Cellophane"
Bah. The perplexity is great when in an album with its particular context you find a piece of this kind that doesn't have a damn thing to do with the rest, nor with Deftones in general for that matter. Most likely (indeed certainly) a piece wanted by Chino, in fact, you can't help but notice how this track sounds terribly like Team Sleep. An electronic base repeated throughout the song with here and there cheap effects accompanying the voice of Annie Hardy, from Giant Drag, who doesn't sing but rather speaks, speaks continuously the whole time, a speech that immediately becomes verbose for the listener who after the first minutes will surely end up wondering when the heck it stops. Rating: 1
"Combat"
Song in pure Deftones style, nice to listen to, although it could have been developed much better. Rating: 6
"Kimdracula"
And after an entire album that seemed to disappoint, Deftones give us this other gem. The intro is very reminiscent of "Change", but then proceeds in a totally different way. The sound takes us back to the previous album. Although it also has its ups and downs, overall it is a very nice song. Rating: 6.5
"Riviere"
Excellent song. Closes the album in Deftones style. Stephen takes the lead with his various distortions inserted into complicated arpeggios. Undoubtedly a much darker and gloomier closure compared to those of other albums, but it suits perfectly the context in which it is inserted. Rating: 7
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Hole in the Earth (04:53)
Can you explain to me how
You're so evil (how?)
It's too late for me now
There's a hole in the earth (a hole in earth)
There's a hole in the earth (a hole in the earth)
I'm out...
Can you explain to me now
If you're still able well...
I think you know the truth
There's a hole in the earth (a hole in the earth)
I'm out
I hate all of my friends
They all lack taste sometimes
There's a hole in the earth
I'm out...
There's a hole in the earth
Please take a bow...
This is the end (somewhere)
This is the end
Somewhere...
There's a hole in the earth
There's a hole in the earth
I hate all of my friends
I'm out...
There's a hole in the earth
Hey...
Somewhere
02 Combat (04:34)
This time the finger's pointed right at you!
Whose side are you on?!
Whose side are you on?!
I ask you what side since you pointed it out
Whose side are you on?!
Whose side are you on?!
A waste of time if you don't believe
Can't decide till you've hit the ground
Make your mind because you're holding me down
(And I want to get down)
This time the finger's pointed right at you!
Whose side are you on?!
Whose side are you on?!
I asked you what side since you pointed it out
Whose side are you on?!
Whose side are you on?!
A waste of time if you don't believe
Can't decide till you've hit the ground
Make your mind because 'cause you're holding me down
(And I want to get down)
Don't think that I don't know 'cause I do
Nice try
Guess that's what you're really like. Like
Let something out, say something else
Decide whose side you're on
Whose side are you on?! Decide. Go on.
04 Cherry Waves (04:54)
A sea of waves
We hug the same plank
Just as I rehearsed over in my brain
The waves...
Suck...
You in
And you drown
If like you
Should sink down beneath
I'll swim down
With you...you....
You hang the anchors over my neck
I liked it at first
but the more you laughed
The crazier I came...
The waves...
Suck....you in
Then you drown...
If, like, you
Should sink down beneath
I'll swim down with you....
Is that what you want?...
You....
Is that what you want?...
Waves...
Waves...
it's like...
If like you
Should sink down beneath
I'll swim down with you!
Is that you want?
With you...
Is that what you want?
You?
You...
Escape...below...
06 Mein (04:31)
I've looked outside
But I, never wandered out
I'd like to pull you into me
Intercept you in between
But I, never wandered out
Outside
That way I'll always stay away from you
I've looked inside
But I, never wandered in
I'd like to pull it into me
Intercept you in between
But I, never wandered in
Inside
That way I'll always stay away from you
The universe, breaking us down
That way I'll always stay away from you
16 Xerces (04:03)
Universe
Surrounds you
When you're ready it waits
For us to leave this earth
Come on, they're calling your name out
I don't know
I could stay or leave
Either way
Cause the comet can take us
All the way through
Goodbye
Safe, heaven, new
I'll be waving
Goodbye
Return
To see
Everything looks the same
I don't know if the change it made was grave
Cause the craving remained the same
Goodbye
Safe, heaven, new
I'll be waving
Goodbye
I'll be waving, goodbye
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Other reviews
By sephiroth
I could compare the latest effort from Deftones to a pill that induces emotions that seem entirely genuine or utterly fake.
The band has partially abandoned the elements of the predecessor and drawn heavily from the experiments of White Pony.
By maz74
MASTERPIECE!
music to travel through the metropolitan night without a destination...
By thetrooper
This time the change of direction is somewhat more pronounced than in the previous self-titled album.
A work that is not very fast and driven but calmer, more thoughtful, and quite engaging, a must-buy for lovers of experimental rock and nu sounds.
By Ginoleo
Delgado, the keyboardist, manages to create dreamlike atmospheres where Chino’s voice sings like a long lament, sometimes melancholic, other times angry.
I feel like saying it’s better this way, S.N.W. lives with its own soul and in its thousand facets cannot undergo sorts of comparisons.
