Of all the bands which shot to popularity during the nu-metal gold rush of the 1990's into the early 2000's, Deftones have managed to stay fresh and relevant 30 years into their career by evolving with each new release. Initially running with a scathing nu-metal sound throughout their first couple of albums, the band began to incorporate ambient, electronic and rock influences in each successive release, creating a totally unique sound which is still unmatched today.
Over the course of eight albums to date (and a ninth coming very soon!) , there are so many fantastic Deftones songs out there, so it was a near-impossible task to whittle it down for a top 10 list. Some were very close to making the cut, while others were clear-cut winners; read on for our picks of Deftones' best ten tracks!
10 - Phantom Bride (Gore)
While the band's latest album Gore was their lightest album to date, it was a fantastic dynamic of the ambient, experimental sounds they had been leaning into over their last few albums and some very crushing guitars from Steven Carpenter. 'Phantom Bride' was the one track which seemed to encapsulate every element into the one song, starting out as an atmospheric and blissful rock buildup into a huge outro with sludgy, down-tuned guitars at the 4:06 mark. Alice In Chains' Jerry Cantrell's guitar contribution to the song works perfectly and helps make it stand out in Deftones' catalogue as one of their best.
The band also named their own IPA beer after the song, which you can grab here!
9 - Back To School (White Pony)
White Pony (2000)
Our first entry from what is probably the band's seminal and most popular album White Pony (2000), 'Back To School (Mini Maggit)' wasn't actually included in the record's original release, instead being added as the opening track to a re-release a few months later by their record label. A reworking of the album's closer 'Pink Maggit', it embodies the best of everything about 00's nu-metal; heavy and melodic guitar work, aggressive rap rock vocals and spiky hair as far as the eye can see.
For a song that wasn't originally meant to be released, it turned out to be one of the catchiest of them all. If this track doesn't make you wanna grab a skateboard and kick-push down the street, nothing will!
8 - Cherry Waves (Saturday Night Wrist)
By 2006, Deftones had begun to really dip their toes into a more atmospheric and sprawling sound, mixing bright melody with dark and layered soundscapes to great effect. While the band wrote their fifth album Saturday Night Wrist, Chino was dealing with severe addictions and the crumbling of his marriage. Together with straining relationships within the band, the circumstances made for an extremely powerful and gut-wrenching twelve songs. It was also the last album that bassist Chi Cheng recorded before he tragically passed away in 2013 after a long battle with recovering from a 2008 car crash.
Using a soft-loud dynamic between the eerie verses and the massive, ethereal choruses, 'Cherry Waves' is an underrated track that completely washes over you every time you listen to it. Chino's whispering croons and pained screams really convey his emotion, pushing us over the edge to include it in this list.
7 - Digital Bath (White Pony)
Another entry from White Pony, 'Digital Bath' is an absolute masterwork in aggressive melancholy. From Abe Cunningham's unique and instantly-recognisable beat, to the muted guitar work in the pensive verses and the crescendo of each chorus, this is a track that sounds like nothing else. Chino's signature whispering makes the hair on the back of our neck stand up and he's able to showcase his massive vocal register as he moves to some really high notes in the chorus.
'Digital Bath' still holds up in 2018 as not only one of Deftones' best songs, but one of the best songs in the genre to have ever been written.
6 - Leathers
'Leathers' was the first song to be released to the public from their 2012 album Koi No Yokan, and boy did it blow our balls off! By this stage, Deftones' had shed much of their nu-metal roots, evolving their sound to include tons of atmosphere and major-key melody, and 'Leathers' was a perfect example of how they'd really mastered the soft-loud dynamic in their songs.
Starting off with a ghostly, ambient section using pads and delay effects, you just get pulled into its atmosphere when all of a sudden you're clubbed over the head by chugging guitars and Chino's ear-piercing shrieks out of nowhere. It's one of the band's most powerful songs with an infectiously-catchy chorus.
5 - Rocket Skates (Diamond Eyes)
"Guns, razors, knives!" shrieks Chino in the chorus of this sultry, groovy and devastatingly heavy track from their critically-acclaimed 2012 album Diamond Eyes.
This was a song which captured the band's dark, sexual energy to a T. Other tracks from the album like the crushing title track and the beautiful 'Sextape' were up for the spot, but 'Rocket Skates' just edges them out with Chino's maniacal vocal performance and Carpenter's thudding riffs.
Thanks to the world-class production by Nick Raskulinecz (Korn, Alice In Chains, Trivium) and the legendary Chris Lord-Alge (Bruce Springsteen, Prince, James Brown), each song stood out as its own unique entity on Diamond Eyes, resulting in one of their best albums to date.
4 - My Own Summer (Shove It) (Around The Fur)
"Where the fuck are tracks from Around The Fur?", we hear you asking! Don't worry, it wouldn't be a Deftones list without including this absolute banger from their 1997 album. As soon as you hear the "BOOM BAP" and that opening riff, your head seems to just start unavoidably banging. Sparse, bass-driven verses make the aggressive choruses hit even harder, with Chino spitting bile as he screams "SHOVE IT, SHOVE IT, SHOVE IT!". Ah, it's so good.
'My Own Summer (Shove It)' was the band's first charting single, reaching #29 on the UK singles chart and helping to really put them on the map. The song was also included on the soundtrack for the first Matrix film.
3 - Passenger (White Pony)
Yet another song from White Pony (it's a really good album, what do you expect?), 'Passenger' quickly became a fan-favourite thanks to a match made in heaven of Tool's Maynard James Keenan trading lines with Chino throughout the song.
The meaning behind its lyrics have been debated for a while, with some saying that it was about receiving fellatio in a car while driving at night time, but Chino has explained what he wanted the song to be about:
"I did this song with Maynard from Tool. Basically, I told him I wanted to create a scenario of being in a car and being taken for a drive when you don't really know what's going on. I wanted him to create a lot of imagery. he wrote a majority of the of the lyrics and left blanks for me to fill in. it seems like you're being held captive, but enjoy what's going on."
'Passenger' is a prime example of Deftones being able to convey the song's title through the music itself, and this is a perfect song to listen to while driving late at night!
2 - Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away) (Around The Fur)
'Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away)' was the second single to be released from Around The Fur, and proved to be one of their biggest hits early on. The song manages to be one of Deftones' most ballsy and beautiful tracks at the same time, and really draws on sounds from the Sacramento band Far, who the band had publically acknowledged were a huge influence on the band from the get-go.
Maybe it's a coincidence 'Far' is in the title, maybe it isn't. Who knows? What we do know is that this is one of our favourite songs of all time, and definitely deserving of a high spot on our list.
Did you know that the band performed an acoustic version of this song with Adam Sandler and Incubus to promo Sandler's new movie at time Little Nicky? We're not joking - check it out here!
1 - Change (In The House Of Flies) (White Pony)
You knew it would be on here, and in our opinion it's the band's best song in their catalogue. Not only was this the most commercially successful hit the band had, it showcased the new direction Deftones were heading in by masterfully weaving together spectral synth, gloomy guitar work and Chino's one-of-a-kind voice switching between creepy whisper and droning yells. During a time where formulaic nu-metal was king, Deftones added an entire new dimension to the genre with this track.
'Change' is concrete proof that you don't need to write explicitly heavy riffs to be heavy!
Do you agree with our list? Given that Deftones have so many great tracks in their catalogue, this was no easy task, so we've decided to include five honourable mentions below:
Honourable Mentions
7 Words (Adrenaline)
7
Headup (Around The Fur)
Sextape (Diamond Eyes)
Bored (Adrenaline)
You've Seen The Butcher (Diamond Eyes)
Deftones' long-awaited 9th album Ohms will be officially out on September 25 - make sure you head over to the Maniacs store to pre-order your copy!
Deftones - 'Ohms' Tracklisting:
01 - Genesis
02 - Ceremony
03 - Urantia
04 - Error
05 - The Spell of Mathematics
06 - Pompeji
07 - The Link Is Dead
08 - Radiant City
09 - Headless
10 - Ohms
Listen to Deftones now.
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