Nearly 40 years into their career, Deftones are arguably more popular than they’ve ever been thanks to a fresh wave of late ’90s/early 2000s nostalgia, a fanbase that seems to get younger by the year and the Sacramento, Ca.-reared hard rock band’s biggest tour ever, which sold out venues such as Kia Forum in Los Angeles and Madison Square Garden in New York earlier this year.
On Aug. 22, Deftones will enhance the celebration with the release of private music, their first album in five years. The 11-track effort (Reprise/Warner) was introduced today (July 10) with the single “my mind is a mountain.” Sample it below.
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private music was produced by Nick Raskulinecz, who previously worked on Deftones’ 2010 album Diamond Eyes and its 2012 successor, Koi No Yokan. The former was made in the wake of an aborted album named Eros, on which Deftones began work in 2007 but paused after bassist Chi Cheng was critically injured in a car accident the following year. He died in 2013.
“Nick sort of approached us, and we had the opportunity to pretty much start a whole other record,” frontman Chino Moreno told SPIN in 2020. “I didn’t think the record company was gonna [agree], because we’d already spent a record’s [budget]. And then all of a sudden, it’s like, OK, we’re not gonna put this out. Will you give us money for him to make a brand new record? They said yes, and Nick spearheaded that whole thing. We wrote and recorded that record in like two months — seriously. So it was kind of an experiment on its own, and it worked: Diamond Eyes really captured the spirit of what was happening in our lives. For the next record, it was like, well, that worked. Let’s try that again. To me, Koi No Yokan feels like a reprise of Diamond Eyes.”
Deftones continue to find new fans thanks to classic albums such as 2000’s White Pony, which includes enduring favorites such as “Change (In the House of Flies),” “Digital Bath” and “Passenger.” Asked in 2020 why he thinks White Pony still resonates so strongly with new and old fans alike, he said, “I think it’s one of our best-produced records — it’s some of Terry’s finest work. The drum sound is awesome. Because we were kind of influenced by a lot of electronic, beat-driven music like DJ Shadow, we really wanted to make a drum-forward album. So, that record has a lot of head nod to it. It’s also very expansive. There’s a lot of soundscape-y stuff, and there’s a heaviness — all those trigger points that Deftones are known for. But I remember when we first put it out, some people didn’t get it right way, like, what is this? Where are the Deftones at? Obviously, there are parts that jump out at you, but overall I think it’s a headphone record — kind of a slow-burner. So, that’s given it life all these years.”
The band will be back on the road Aug. 22 in Vancouver and has dates on tap through Sept. 15 in Denver.
Here is the track list for private music:
my mind is a mountain
locked club
ecdysis
infinite source
souvenir
cXz
i think about you all the time
milk of the madonna
cut hands
~metal dream
departing the body
To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.
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