DEFTONES are not so much a band as they are a
hyper-dynamic musical experience. Imagine the
world spinning of its axis, and you’ll have a good idea
of what these guys sound like. Or, as lead singer
CHINO MORENO says, “It’s sweet, ruthless.” With
their wicked rhythms, sinister riffs,
speaking-in-tongues vocals and rabid lyrics, the
Sacramento, CA foursome build provocatively on their
Maverick debut album ADRENALINE with the new
AROUND THE FUR. More powerful than their first,
it’s a record that consolidates all their strengths—the
rhythmic dynamism, the jarring use of melody, the
industrial/rap undercurrents, “the bracing blend of
>extremes,” according to the Los Angeles
Times—and radically creates its own wavelength.
In the words of guitarist STEPHEN CARPENTER, the
new album “is passionate, heavier—it has more
feeling than ADRENALINE. It’ll be just as destructive
on your stereo.” DEFTONES triumphantly staked out
their own turf with the October 95 release of
ADRENALINE, which sold over 200,000 copies and
featured the nerve-shredding classic “7 Words.” This
success was fueled by 13 months of great touring
success with the likes of Bad Brains, Korn, and White
Zombie, a stint on the Warped Tour, three rounds of
headlining U.S. tour dates, and a special
appearance—performing the song “Teething”—as
the house-band for a “Day of the Dead” festival in the
The Crow:
City of Angels motion picture. “Teething” was also
featured on the film’s soundtrack album, while
another DEFTONES song, “Can’t Even Breathe,”
emerged on the Escape From L.A. soundtrack album.
In a recent Guitar School story, writer David Grad
described ADRENALINE as “DEFTONES’ firestorm
of noise, which blends a sensibility for drop-dead
grooves with a passion for precision riffery. The ease
with which the DEFTONES annihilate boundaries
among their audiences is no doubt enhanced by the
multi-ethnic makeup of the band.” As CHINO
explained, “We’re two Mexicans, a Chinese and a
white boy. Metal and punk don’t have to be white,
anymore than rap has to be black.”
The band once again joined forces with co-producer
Terry Date for AROUND THE FUR, which is
undeniably DEFTONES in sound and structure and,
like ADRENALINE, every song has its own distinct
style and fury. “It’s a lot like the last record in that I
love every song for what it is,” says STEPHEN.
“Every song really is different from each other. They
all have their own vibe, but there is a general vein to
each, which is energy.” And a lot of it. “I would just
call it passionate; it’s more about intensity than any
actual style or genre,” says bassist CHI CHENG
when asked to describe their sound. Drummer ABE
CUNNINGHAM further explains, “I’d say, Grandma,
it’s just crazy!’”
AROUND THE FUR opens with “My Own Summer
(Shove It),” which instantly gets your attention like
using a hand grenade for an alarm clock. The album
then shifts and changes, expanding on the concept of
pure musical energy enhanced with obscure, yet
personal and grabbing lyrics.
Says STEPHEN, “I would call this record a
progression, but not in the respect that it’s better than
the last one, it’s just different. We’ve all matured a lot
and communication is a lot clearer. I know what
CHINO is going to do before he does it.” “Yeah,”
adds CHINO, “this album just felt natural to us after
all the touring.”
This “natural” feeling, and the maturing sense of
communication and trust, allowed CHINO to go
lyrically where he had been apprehensive about
venturing before. “On AROUND THE FUR I say a lot
of things I’ve always wanted to,” explains CHINO.
“I’ve grown more confident where I can express more
personal things, and even if the guys don’t agree with
it or understand what I’m saying, they know that I’m
sincere and trust me to do my thing.”
The straightforward sincerity of the lyrics entangled
with the music makes them more compelling and
relatable. In the album’s title track, “Around the Fur,”
CHINO conveys his fascination with the dark and
trashy side of the fashion, glamour and prostitution
worlds. Says CHINO, “It’s basically about being
infatuated with the dirtiness of life. I’ll do anything to
try to get into it and understand it, because I want to
see where everybody’s coming from. I’m hoping that
people don’t take it as a sexual reference, because
it’s not about that at all.”
Another song that deals with similar issues is “MX,”
which conveys images of greed and high culture. For
the song, CHINO really wanted a girl to trade off lines
with him throughout the song, and the only one
around at the time was ABE’s wife Annalynn, who at
first had adamantly refused. After much coercion, she
finally gave in and provided a voice to contrast
against CHINO’s musings about his longing to “let me
think about girls and money and new clothes,” to
which she finally responds “fucking rock star.”
CHINO’s desire for a female voice to appear on the
album also gives insight to the inspirations for his
melodic vocal stylings. “My vocals on this album was
really influenced by female singers, really passionate
ones like Polly Jean Harvey,” he states. “Lately I’ve
been more into that as opposed to the strictly
hard-core style of singing. I just like the way that girls
can make their voices sound, and I know I can’t really
do that, but I try to write in that way.” This particularly
comes across in a hypnotic song like “Be Quiet And
Drive (Far Away).”
Tour plans for DEFTONES? They plan to live on the
road, bringing life to AROUND THE FUR and building
their unique bond with their fans, whom they reward
with shows that are transcendent and physically
draining.
One sold-out performance, at the Whisky in Los
Angeles, had Sandy Masuo of the Los Angeles Times
observing: “STEPHEN CARPENTER’s guitar gouged
into the groove one minute, then peeled out of it the
next, boosting the undulating rhythms of songs such
as Lifter’ with relentless, repeating riffs. Singer
CHINO MORENO hurled himself around the stage as
he spewed his abstract lyrics through a startling
assortment of vocal textures—from the primal keening
of Root’ to the tuneful crooning of One Weak,’ some
rapping, hair-raising howling and melodic mumbling.”
It’s that kind of passion and total commitment to their
craft that makes DEFTONES stand apart. With
AROUND THE FUR, they’ve delivered a work that
will intrigue your mind, energize your body and touch
your soul.
