Music
Album Review: Deftones’ ‘Diamond Eyes’
Deftones started playing music way back in 1988 and released their first album in 1995. Since their start they have always wanted to be different from the rest and make awesome music. I feel this is a true statement. Yesterday their sixth full length “Diamond Eyes” has finally come out and I couldn’t be more impressed. Heavy, fierce, atmospheric and dare I say pretty? Read past the break for my review!
The album opens with the the title track “Diamond Eyes” which isn’t a song I expected to be an album opener but it couldn’t be more perfect. It’s definitely in Deftones fashion similar to other openers like “Hole In The Earth” and “Feiticeira” but with a little more substance and a way catchier chorus. The next couple songs get progressively heavier, “Royal” being one of them in particular. The song sounds like it could have been a b-side to “Around The Fur”. As I listen more to the album I start to notice the growth in their lyrics as well as their music. The next few songs flow really well and are super catchy and something you can lay back too. “You’ve Seen The Butcher” is equally as heavy as well as calm. This song is a prime example of their growth and how well they can make a story out of a song.
“Rocket Skates” is without a doubt my favorite track off the album. It is so angry and violent and Chino’s voice goes from psychotic to wounded throughout the whole song. From here the album gets a little slower but doesn’t get boring especially on the song “976-EVIL”. The song is probably one of the best crush/love songs ever made. It’s got the insecurity/risk taking that goes into liking someone. In a way it’s kind of heartwarming.
This is the first album without longtime bassist Chi Cheng due to him being in a coma from a severe car accident, but Sergio Vega of former post-hardcore act Quicksand kept up with the Deftones’ sound and did an excellent job considering the shoes he had to fill. The album as a whole sounds like the bastard child of “White Pony” and “Around The Fur” and has definitely become a candidate for album of the year. This is a great album for both hardcore Deftones fans and for ones who are kind of into them and ones who have never listened to the Deftones before. If you’re not doing anything go buy this album now.
4.5 out of 5 skulls
It’s a new day, and you’ve got new John Carpenter to listen to. John Carpenter, Daniel Davies and Cody Carpenter have released the new track He Walks By Night this morning, the second single off their upcoming album Lost Themes IV: Noir, out May 3 on Sacred Bones Records.
Lost Themes IV: Noir is the latest installment in a series that sees Carpenter releasing new music for John Carpenter movies that don’t actually exist. The first Lost Themes was released in 2015, followed by Lost Themes II in 2016 and Lost Themes III: Alive After Death in 2021.
Sacred Bones previews, “It’s been a decade since John Carpenter recorded the material that would become Lost Themes, his debut album of non-film music and the opening salvo in one of Hollywood’s great second acts. Those vibrant, synth-driven songs, made in collaboration with his son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies, kickstarted a musical renaissance for the pioneering composer and director. With Lost Themes IV: Noir, they’ve struck gold again, this time mining the rich history of the film noir genre for inspiration.
“Since the first Lost Themes, John has referred to these compositions as “soundtracks for the movies in your mind.” On the fourth installment in the series, those movies are noirs. Like the film genre they were influenced by, what makes these songs “noirish” is sometimes slippery and hard to define, and not merely reducible to a collection of tropes. The scores for the great American noir pictures were largely orchestral, while the Carpenters and Davies work off a sturdy synth-and-guitar backbone.
“The trio’s free-flowing chemistry means Lost Themes IV: Noir runs like a well-oiled machine—the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster from Kiss Me Deadly, perhaps, or the 1958 Plymouth Fury from John’s own Christine. It’s a chemistry that’s helped power one of the most productive stretches of John’s creative life, and Noir proves that it’s nowhere near done yielding brilliant results.”
You can pre-save Lost Themes IV: Noir right now! And listen to the new track below…
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