Yesterday evening, I was on a Deftones rabbit hole and found myself looking up a lot of Adrenaline era live videos. While on this trip, my interest in the song “Teething” peaked the most. I will always remember the song from being a part of The Crow: City Of Angels Soundtrack (great soundtrack but, terrible movie). I especially remember that they are in fact featured in the movie playing the song. “Teething” most definitely should have been included on the Adrenaline album. It’s such a cool song. So, enjoy some Deftones today!
On Deftones second album (and my personal favorite) 1997’s Around The Fur, it didn’t just have one hidden track, but two. After the final song “MX” finishes, there’s about 15 minutes of silence before there’s a 20 second skit/recording called Bong Hit, which is exactly what it sounds like. Some 13 minutes after that, though, “Damone” begins and the rest is history! This song shouldn’t have been a hidden track. It’s too damn good not to be included in the original sequence of the album. No matter what though, Deftones really knocked it out of the park with this one!
Back in 1998, Deftones were riding high on their second album Around The Fur (my all time favorite Deftones album). By the time their second single “Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)” dropped, Deftones were fast on their way to begin taking over. On April 20, 1998, they performed “Be Quiet and Drive” on Late Night with Conan O’Brien before heading out on the Vans Warped Tour (back when they still had great lineups). Check out this great performance!
Deftones- Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away) on Conan O’Brien 1998:
Deftones have a long history of making quite complete albums. There are a couple that are a little disjointed but, for the most part are rather perfectly sequenced. Their artistry and evolution is something that many bands from their era should have taken a cue from. They’ve managed to stay relevant by pushing themselves as songwriters and performers as well as incorporating other elements into their sound to separate themselves from their peers. On these few title track songs, Deftones, really encapsulated the sound of these albums with these songs.
I really thought that this feature was a lot of fun so I’m doing it again. This time I present my ultimate set list for Deftones.
Here are the rules:
Rule 1: maximum 25 songs
Rule 2: What line up of the band would it be
Rule 3: Where would you want to see the show
Lineup: Chino, Steph, Abe, Frank, Chi and Sergio
Venue: Satellite (Spaceland)- Los Angeles
Set List:
Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)
Around The Fur
My Own Summer (Shove It)
Lotion
Deathblow
Minerva
Beware
Kim Dracula
Swerve City
Entombed
Tempest
Feiticerira
Digital Bath
RX Queen
Knife Party
Passenger
Change (In The House Of Flies)
Diamond Eyes
You’ve Seen The Butcher
Rocket Skates
Risk
Minus Blindfold
Engine No. 9
Root
Pink Maggit
I’ve been a huge Deftones fan since I first remember seeing the video for “Bored.” I thought Adrenaline was a cool album when it came out, then I heard Around The Fur and my excitement level went through the roof. Around The Fur was so powerful. There was a striking difference between this album and their debut. As The story goes, when Deftones went into the studio to make Around The Fur they really didn’t have a set idea of what they wanted to come out with. This time around the guys spent more time in the studio with producer Terry Date. If you listen closely to Abe Cunningham’s drums, you can tell there is a difference on the drum sounds especially the snare, as he began to experiment using different snares on each song. There is also something really intriguing about the quiet to loud dynamics on the album as well. When you have songs like “My Own Summer (Shove It),” “Lhabia,” Around The Fur,” “Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)” it really shows the bands growth and ability to write songs that can be heavy yet have a sense of melody without compromising their artistic integrity.
After a break from touring Around The Fur, the band spent a few months locked away in the studio writing and recording what would become White Pony. The majority of this time was spent trying to write songs, and that the writing of a particular song “Change (In The House Of Flies)” was the turning point for the group as they began working as a “band.” There was also pressure from their label to release the album sooner, but, the band decided to take their time making the album that they wanted to make. The band essentially picked up where they left off with Around The Fur by really delving more into melancholia and melody. The album is explosive and beautiful, thus making it one of the bands most mature releases. The inclusion of songs like “Digital Bath” “RX Queen,” (which features guest vocals by Scott Weiland), and “Knife Party,” join in with the vibe that “Change” had in its spaciousness and use of experimentation. The guesting of Maynard from Tool was a great use of a guest vocalist on “Passenger.” Even with all the experimentation and evolution, Deftones still had their heavy touch on a lot of the songs like “Elite,” “Feiticeira,” and “Street Carp.”
Granted these are two very different albums but they are similar in showing a bands evolution. Personally I’ve always been more partial to Around The Fur, for it’s raw prowess, and unforgiving nature. White Pony is a close second though. To me though Around The Fur just really gets me going in such a fashion that I can’t turn it off, or even turn the volume down. Where do you fall on this issue?
A couple days ago marked the 1 year death anniversary of Chi Cheng from Deftones. In honor of him the guys in Deftones released a song from the unreleased album EROS. The song is entitled “Smile.” The album was shelved after Chi was involved in a car accident which left him in a coma for years. This song is quite exquisite and explore more of the etherial ambient side of the band. Chi was a very energetic member of the band. His presence alone is very much missed. Sergio Vega (of Quicksand and also a cousin of Chi’s) was brought in after Chi’s accident. I had the pleasure of meeting Chi a couple times and he was one of the nicest most genuine people ever.
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