Deftones – ‘Mein’ (Maverick) Released 19/03/07

Deftones continue to surprise with each release, changing up their sound yet retaining that familiar Deftones feel -  especially with new album ‘Saturday Night Wrist’ which has some of the best tunes that Chino and his cohorts have come up with. So why is it that they went and released a complete no brainer such as ‘Mein’ as a single?! Of course it follows the same format as typical Deftones but with a slightly more straightforward edge, but it just doesn’t stand up to the rest of the immense songs on ‘SNW’. There are no real hooks to speak of and Serj Tankian’s guest vocals are appalling, dragging the song into the abyss that is monotony, as his monotone drawls add nothing to a song that could have been great. Of course don’t let this review dissuade you from acquiring ‘Saturday Night Wrist’ as it is only one bad song out of many great ones. Maybe it's just to keep them on the airwaves, or just to say “Hey look at us, we have cool friends who can sing with us!” - who knows, just don’t take ‘Mein’ as an indication of where the band is at right now musically.