Deftones – ‘Saturday Night Wrist’ (Maverick) Released 30/10/06

The album that nearly didn’t happen is the album that will secure the Deftones’ placement in the musical hall of fame as one of the most scathingly brilliant metal bands ever. ‘Saturday Night Wrist’ is a continuation of the constant evolution of the band that has refused to go away garnering the widest variety of fans, living in the music collections of even the most ardent anti metal heads. A band that have created an album by pushing through walls of near break ups, egotistical solo projects, and a myriad of producers by creating a sound that is not only a clear departure from their considerably infamous back catalogue, but a concentrated and concise effort at pushing their talent further, needs to be commended just for the sheer fact of pulling it off without losing fans or disappearing into a haze of pretentious experimentation.

Infamous for their knife fight guitar riffs alongside Chino Moreno’s poetically violent lyrics and larynx bursting vocal style ‘Adrenaline’ and ‘Around The Fur’ became the catalyst for reinvention within the alternative metal collective as the weird kids became as much a part of the 20th century musical revolution as hairspray became a part of Robert Smith’s DNA. So what could the Sacramento Quintet do but reinvent themselves unlike their contemporaries Korn and Limp Bizkit, before they became stagnant. ‘White Pony’ was released to critical and worldwide acclaim, as tracks like ‘Digital Bath’ purveyed the new direction and notable style nuances to eventually become associated with Deftones whereas the Grammy Award winning ‘Elite’ still showed that they knew how to make a crowd bleed for them in the mosh pit. Their self titled 2003 release once again reaffirmed them as a driving force in alternative metal and saw them completely shed the Nu-Metal moniker that had become a curse for many other bands as epic soundscapes laced with deadly riffs where thrown up against electro dream pop as Moreno began to use his voice more as an instrument rather than a weapon.

Enter ‘Saturday Night Wrist’ an album that will surely see the band not lose fans, but confuse them even more. It is an album full of the sonic experimentation that this band has now embraced, yet with a strong nod to the explosive nature of their immense back catalogue. New single ‘Hole In The Earth’ is typical triumphant ‘Deftonic’ brilliance capturing the goosebump inducing riffage that came with ‘Back To School’ and ‘The Boys Republic’ all those years ago. “I hate all my friends/They lack taste sometimes” ringing out through a chorus emblazoned with an evil guitar line could confirm their distaste with their stagnant peers of years gone. ‘Rapture’ takes the listener back to the ‘Around The Fur’ days as it is as violent as a veteran fan could hope for. Tracks like ‘Beware’ and forthcoming single ‘Cherry Waves’ could have been b-sides or even first drafts for ‘Minerva’ as the soaring melodies over slow burning instrumentation styling has resurfaced for these mini epic bursts, that once again show that Moreno is no one trick pony…