Hot New Joint: "Prayers/Triangles" by Deftones
The Deftones have always been an interesting act to follow—an
artistically leaning band that often caves in to stagnant, middle of the road “metal”
sounds. To some extent, the band peaked in 2000 with its opus, White Pony—an apparent homage to My
Bloody Valentine’s Loveless in its
soundscape, the group has never really been able to capture that right balance
again—the balance between the heavy, the melodic, and the interesting.
Cut to 16 years later, my love of the Deftones as obviously
waned. I’m not longer an overweight high school student wearing my White Pony hooded sweatshirt. However,
because I was such a fan when I was
16 and 17 years old, the band always holds a place in my heart—more or less a
guilty pleasure at this point—I am still always marginally interested when the
band announces that is is putting out something new.
Enter Gore, the
band’s long gestating eighth studio album, slated to arrive in April. And ahead
of which, the band has released the first single, “Prayers/Triangles.”
It’s a far cry from the unhinged, desperate perfection they
found on “Be Quiet and Drive,” nearly 20 years ago (yikes) and it’s not nearly
as eerie as “Change (In The House of Flies.)” However, it is one of those
moments where the band strikes that balance—melodic, heavy, and interesting.
Yes, Stephen Carpenter’s guitar assault cuts through the
song like a buzzsaw, and the band’s always relied on drummer Abe Cunningham to
pummel his way through a song—here, he does not disappoint, playing with a
reckless abandon on the song’s HUGE, hook-heavy refrain. “You will never be free,” vocalist Chino Moreno coos, walking that
tightrope between using his larynx shredding scream, and actually singing, which is something that he does quite well.
In a sense, “Prayers/Triangles”
serves as a bit of a rejuvenation and reintroduction for the Deftones—the group
nearly always takes their time in between releases—upwards of four years have
passed since their last release. Incessantly touring, the long periods of
dormancy can make one forget that the Deftones are a band, and in the case of
this song—forget that the band, when firing on all cylinders, are a force to be
reckoned with.
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