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Album Review: Deftones, "Saturday Night Wrist" (Maverick)
It may have taken five albums and the better part of a decade, but the Deftones ' most significant obstacle may have finally evolved into their most engaging attribute.
Where the band's previous efforts have been bogged down by heady ambition that at times translated into tedious monotony, "Saturday Night Wrist" embraces the group's array of disparate influences, allowing each to play its natural role. The results are alluring and intriguing, from the opening hum and dissident clamor of "Hole in the Earth," through the blood-warm, mind-numbing trickle of closing track "Riviere."
"Rapture" and "Rats!Rats!Rats!" may glimmer with a metallic underbelly and deadbolt a Helmet-like din to frontman Chino Moreno's manic vocals, but there are as many disarming moments that flutter to the forefront, notably in the eerie drizzle of "Beware" and the robust ebb and flow of "Cherry Waves." Granted, the nonsensical and profane detour that closes "Pink Cellphone" is unnerving, marring an otherwise standout trip-hop duet with Giant Drag's Annie Hardy, but the essence of the 12-track album remains otherwise intact throughout, populating an emotionally jarring landscape reminiscent of Dead Can Dance or Massive Attack with heavy-handed strokes of metallic brimstone.
While "Saturday Night Wrist" will likely prove too abstract for the mainstream success that many feel is overdue the Deftones, and the material may be a tad overwhelming to some casual fans, the album's legacy should long outlive its commercial relevance. The Deftones have finally transcended the genre-lines that had previously constrained them, and the results are spectacular.
