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Deftones have always been a massive deal in the world of metal, but the huge increase in popularity the band have experienced in the last half a decade comes as something of a shock. Be it through the re-emergence of nu metal’s popularity, the rise of similarly ‘sensitive’ artists such as Sleep Token and Bad Omens, or TikTok… er… thirst traps, the Sacramento collective have arguably never been hotter than they are right now.
Devoted fans of the band consider them to be consistency personified, but in 2025, even those records that fair-weather fans/ outsiders perceived as missteps – 2006’s Saturday Night Wrist and 2016’s Gore – are now being re-evaluated as great, underrated pieces. So it wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world if Deftones decided now was the time to drop their best album since 2000’s career-defining White Pony.
Although it feels like a bit of a risk to confidently predict that Private Music will become more beloved than treasured 2010 album Diamond Eyes or its 2012 follow-up, Koi No Yokan, it’s certainly been a while since all the elements that make a great Deftones record have coalesced so perfectly as they do here.
Firstly, there’s the production from Foo Fighters, Alice In Chains, Korn and Mastodon producer Nick Raskulinecz, who massages every nuance, beefs up every riff, shoots every melody skyward and gives a featherlight touch to all of the band’s quieter moments. This is a record that, when listened to with the right pair of headphones, is an aural feast. Terry Date’s work with the band is rightfully revered, but the fact that both Diamond Eyes and Koi No Yokan were made with Nick says much about how he can capture Deftones at their best.
It’s something that this band need as well. Their special sauce is, and always has been, how the enigmatic breathy whispers, wails and screams of frontman Chino Moreno meld with the monolithic, weighty riffs of guitarist Stephen Carpenter, while still leaving enough room for the hip hop- and trip hop- inspired beats of their rhythm section, all while the subtle atmospherics of DJ Frank Delgado intricately weave their way in, out and around those opposing forces.
When Deftones get that mix right, they’re an utterly unstoppable force. Here, from bouncing opener My Mind Is A Mountain, they seem locked in and almost telepathically linked. Picking highlights is hard when the record is this fantastic all the way through, but Stephen’s groovy, tech- grind riff on Cut Hands, the gorgeously emotional I Think About You All The Time, where Chino channels Morrissey’s melancholic croon, and The Smashing Pumpkins-meets-New Order-gone- metal of Ecdysis all are great shouts.
But this is about far more than individual songs. While Gore contained subtle melodic deviations into alt rock, space rock and more, and 2020’s Ohms was an enjoyable attempt at recreating every period of their career in one release, Private Music feels like the most complete and essential album they’ve made in a very long time. The perfect record for a late-period career renaissance.
Private Music is out this Friday, August 22, via Reprise/Warner. Read a brand new interview with Chino Moreno in the new issue out Metal Hammer, out Thursday
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