Shove It!
by: ben

The Deftones second album shows how much they have grown over the past two years.  Instead of insubordinate screaming and yelling, unthoughtful lyrics, and blurting out vulgarities by the handful, they have sat down and wrote a promising record.

Founded in 1992, in Sacramento, CA, the band Deftones was discovered by the ultimately popular Korn.  Many have thought that Korn's unique hardcore style rubbed off on the Deftones on their first record, Adrenaline, which does prove to be a fact.  Listen to how similar the Deftones are to Korn on their debut and you will have to agree.  It does seem that they all have grown musically, and shown their true inner talent on their latest record, Around the Fur.

This CD is definately not for the weak at heart.  Although some more "emotional" songs such as "Mascara" and "Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)", would possibly attract a more alternative crowd to this band. Yet, they still live up to their screamy meamies and extremely energetic mix of hardcore-metal/punk in the songs "Around the Fur" and "HeadUp".

The vocal style of Chino Moreno, best known for his wildness on stage and drunkenness off stage, is similar to such bands as Korn, Limp Bizkit, and Rage Against the Machine.  He sings sweetly at certain times in songs and when you least expect he'll just start yelling his ass off.  Although, this may sound unappealing to some people, it definately fits the moods of his songs.  Even on his slower songs (e.g. "Mascara") he holds his vocals down to a low level. This certainly gives off the mood he was trying to create in the song. However,
I still think some times Chino lets himself go a little too much for comfort.

The music in the band seems to hit all different genres mixed together like they were making some sort of fresh-ass cake batter.  The drum beat reminds me of a hip-hop style beat.  The guitar sound is more punk rock or hardcore sounding and the bass follows along that aspect. The music is very tight, and flows together nicely. It seems like the band really works good together, and a replacement in the Deftones would not be
in the question.

To sum it all up, the Deftones are one band that writes very decent songs for almost any occasion.  You can listen to them when you're sad, happy, and especially when you're angry.  They're a great mosh pit band, if that's the type of group you're looking for, and even a great chill out band, if that's your flavor.  Deftones are not for everyone though.  If you want some pure rock 'n' roll please don't bother with the Deftones, but if you're pleasure is very energetic music, then Around the Fur is the right CD for you.

*The reason I give it 3.5 is because in some tracks, no matter what I said earlier, they sort of lose that energy and seem to go off on each his own. A lot of saves on this record, but a lot of really tight songs too.