Deftones Saturday Night Wrist
Maverick Records 43239-2 October 2006
By Nathan Pearce
Around the time of White Pony, Deftones did something truly genius on their part. They distanced themselves from the nu-metal crowd they somewhat mistakenly got lumped in with. White Pony proved to be a defining moment for the band both in their marketing and more importantly in their style and song writing.
Unfortunately Deftones followed their masterpiece with a very stale self-titled excursion. Maybe it was a case of creating something nearly impossible to live up to again, in White Pony. However, with the release of Saturday Night Wrist, Deftones have proven that White Pony wasnt necessarily their all-time high. Im not going to tell you that Saturday Night Wrist is better than White Pony, but I will say that such a point could be argued. Saturday Night Wrist has the exceptional vocal emotion and instrumental dynamics that made White Pony something WAY more than simply nu-metal. In fact both White Pony and Saturday Night Wrist prove that Deftones is probably more at home with bands like Isis or These Arms Are Snakes than Korn or any other band that died with the glorious end of nu-metal.
The variety of song writing on Saturday Night Wrist separates it from White Pony because it manages to show the band to be something more than an emotional roller coaster. Songs like Xerces (a mellow crooner) are followed by songs like Rats!Rats!Rats! (a psychedelic bruiser), and while this would simply show the band has learned to place songs in a certain order on their albums, I think the band is also learning that variety is valuable to an audience with a short attention span for constant screamo.
If you thought White Pony was worth your time and money, I think Saturday Night Wrist will easily please you. Its not quite as solid all around, but it shows the band growing and improving in a very satisfying way. Plus, theres this song, Pink Cellphone, that explains why the British have bad teeth.
8/10
UMs Review Rating Scale
Deftones Official Website
Mavericks Official Website
Maverick Records 43239-2 October 2006
By Nathan Pearce
Around the time of White Pony, Deftones did something truly genius on their part. They distanced themselves from the nu-metal crowd they somewhat mistakenly got lumped in with. White Pony proved to be a defining moment for the band both in their marketing and more importantly in their style and song writing.
Unfortunately Deftones followed their masterpiece with a very stale self-titled excursion. Maybe it was a case of creating something nearly impossible to live up to again, in White Pony. However, with the release of Saturday Night Wrist, Deftones have proven that White Pony wasnt necessarily their all-time high. Im not going to tell you that Saturday Night Wrist is better than White Pony, but I will say that such a point could be argued. Saturday Night Wrist has the exceptional vocal emotion and instrumental dynamics that made White Pony something WAY more than simply nu-metal. In fact both White Pony and Saturday Night Wrist prove that Deftones is probably more at home with bands like Isis or These Arms Are Snakes than Korn or any other band that died with the glorious end of nu-metal.
The variety of song writing on Saturday Night Wrist separates it from White Pony because it manages to show the band to be something more than an emotional roller coaster. Songs like Xerces (a mellow crooner) are followed by songs like Rats!Rats!Rats! (a psychedelic bruiser), and while this would simply show the band has learned to place songs in a certain order on their albums, I think the band is also learning that variety is valuable to an audience with a short attention span for constant screamo.
If you thought White Pony was worth your time and money, I think Saturday Night Wrist will easily please you. Its not quite as solid all around, but it shows the band growing and improving in a very satisfying way. Plus, theres this song, Pink Cellphone, that explains why the British have bad teeth.
8/10
UMs Review Rating Scale
Deftones Official Website
Mavericks Official Website
