Venom and Velvet: Deftones Sharpen Their Legacy with Timeless Heat on 'private music' - Review

Photo Credit: Jimmy Fontaine

The last few years have been a whirlwind for Deftones to say the least. Their unpredictable resurgence on social media has brought them to a whole new generation where they’ve taken it in stride. They've even gone on to play some of their biggest shows to date to screaming fangirls at the barrier and fifty-something-year-old day ones who admire the mosh from afar, cross-armed and reminiscing having seen them in 2001 in a dingy London venue where hot sweat dripped from the ceiling (God, I wish that were me). This new era is looking to be lovingly welcomed by all.

These days, it seems like they’re carving out a space for their younger fans to find themselves, their style, and their voice. Deftones have always stayed true to themselves by subtly reinventing in intriguing ways but also acting as a vessel for others to unapologetically be themselves as they've never wanted to fit under one label either. And frontman Chino Moreno is fully aware of fresh ears as he recently mentioned to Zane Lowe that the age range of the crowds he’s seeing at their live shows are much younger now. I guess teen angst never dies, right? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z__YyKbkZmY

But maybe that’s also because nowadays, finding your people feels easier and expression is celebrated. Deftones have always been about that too with the quiet gravity of community, shared taste and belonging being a staple within their brand. I even had a dive into their website on the Wayback Machine at the time White Pony was released and was delighted to see a treasure-trove of digital-camera selfies and fan chatter about their releases on a Myspace-style forum directly on the site. 

Formed in the late 80s, their evolution was constantly modified with each era of their music through their nu metal, post hardcore bomb of a debut Adrenaline in 1994 to their slinkier, more experimental, melodic but still hardcore body of work Around The Fur in 1997, earning the band their first RIAA certification. With the band being infused with other musical genres drawing from trip-hop, shoegaze, punk and rock to loosely name a few, White Pony was released in 2000 as a brisk, rock-hard project brimming with sensual hedonism, earning the band a GRAMMY award. Deftones went on to release six more studio albums, including a covers and B-sides project, as well as delving into personal projects of their own such as Moreno’s ††† (Crosses) and Team Sleep.

It’s been 5 years since Deftones released their last album Ohms, and in that time we’ve wondered what shape their next chapter might take, especially after standout tracks such as ‘Genesis’ or ‘The Spell Of Mathematics’. Opening for private music, ‘my mind is a mountain’ is an entertaining punch to the gut where Chino bellows “We’ve been waiting here patiently locked in this state clocking our time”, a line that feels like a fitting reflection of the fanbase.

‘ecdysis’ feels aptly titled, a subtle punctuation mark that rounds the album’s arc and of course, their acid-green, serpentine styled album cover designed by Frank Maddocks who has worked with the band since White Pony. Deftones in a way strip back some expectation with these tracks, but revealing that their evolution isn’t about abandoning their sound, but finding something fresh within it: “A new phase arrives… a symbol of our plague”. To the ear, it still retains their trademark sexy sludge-metal like a full-bodied malbec. Alongside that, ‘infinite source’ feels warmly nostalgic. It’s the kind of song you stumble across on early-2000s MTV, the one that sneaks into your memory and becomes the soundtrack to your youth. It’s a tender record like a clumsy middle-school crush blasting it from a boom box under your window in the middle of the night.

And it wouldn’t be a Deftones record without a love song where Chino gets a little romantic. ‘i think about you all the time’ melts through the middle of the album, ribboning through like thick honey where the catharsis of the softness is brushed against the brashness of sludging chords, like venom and velvet. ‘cut hands’ is where I think we can stop to admire the handiwork of Nick Raskulinecz who assisted in the genius of Diamond Eyes and Koi No Yokan and now for private music. Riffs rock from side to side and vocals have a balance between being either hauntingly dynamic or a gentle croon. 

‘milk of the madonna’ is where drummer Abe Cunningham is highlighted for his clamouring symbols and snares in which a lot of fans have compared it as like a part two to ‘Mein’ from Saturday Night Wrist. It’s a classic Deftones track that reels in the older fans to remind them of their bludgeoning spirit as well as guitarist Stephen Carpenter offering weighty guitar licks.

From beginning to end, it feels like wandering through their past albums in a dimly lit museum, admiring some of their finest works as a framed memory of brilliance. It’s not their heaviest album, but it definitely pulls elements of some of those moments and intertwines a newer, mature edge. Echoes of those years ripple through this album, crystallising beautifully on ‘departing the body’, a track encased by a low rumble of vocals whilst simultaneously being poetically intimate about being intertwined with another and transcending realms together. 

private music feels like a timeless gift for the community, but renewed. It nods to seasoned ears and serves as a pleasant, well-rounded introduction for anyone just discovering them. It’s a ride, and Deftones are masters of evolution; never slowing, moving forward, and somehow always making it feel like coming home.  

private music will be released on Friday 22nd August and Deftones will be touring the UK and EU in early 2026.