alternative metal

Record #542: Cave In – Antenna (2003)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

Of all of the chameleonic reinventions across the history of recorded music, few groups were as mercurial as Cave In.

And while Antenna might not be the biggest left turn they’ve ever taken, it’s certainly the furthest end of their creative spectrum, leaning heavier on space rock and alternative than ever before. But there’s still plenty of metal heaviness to give these songs some real heft. Continue reading →

Record #540: Cave In – Jupiter (2000)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald

In all of my examinations of the nerdiest aspects of music critique, I have never found a band with a more convoluted creative arc than Cave In.

I was first exposed to the group a few years ago when I picked up White Silence in a lot of records that I bought to flip. It was an angular, abrasive piece of experimental metalcore that I was not into at all. I dismissed them as a band I just wasn’t into, and that was that.

Then a few weeks ago, a friend recommended Antenna, their major label breakthrough that blended alternative metal and space rock to make something that my friend described as “Deftones meets Sunny Day Real Estate.” After hearing the contrast, I delved deep into their discography to try to figure out what exactly happened.

Continue reading →

Record #437: Deftones – White Pony (2000)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald
It seems fitting that in 2017, a year that saw me obsessively dive into the Deftones’ catalogue to determine if I like them or not (spoiler: I really, really, really, really do), it’s fitting that my last purchase of the year would be White Pony, the record most people regard as their magnum opus.
Listening to the melodic, shoegaze-influenced alternative metal of Koi No Yokan or Gore, there’s very little to suggest that Deftones was ever a rap-metal group. That trajectory is thanks to White Pony, the record that eschewed the nu-metal of their peers and becoming one of the best alt-metal bands in the business.
This change was in large part due to the group’s new emphasis on atmosphere and melody. Songs like “Digital Bath,” “Knife Prty,” and the eternal “Change (In the House of Flies)” made great use out of a quite-loud dynamic that became the blueprint for many of the group’s best songs. “Rx Queen,” “Teenager,” and the first half of “Pink Maggit” saw them using a quieter palette than ever before. “Teenager” even had electronic drums and acoustic guitars!
While there are no raps on this record, the band hadn’t completely shed their nu-metal skin. Some of the riffs are still drenched in hip-hop swagger—”Elite” in particular. But even these songs haven’t aged as poorly as most of their contemporaries. While songs like “Freak on a Leash” and “Nookie” sound like embarrassing time capsules, most of  White Pony sounds practically modern.
Which is good news, because I can’t stand rap rock anymore.

Record #397: Deftones – Koi No Yokan (2011)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald
I’ve come a long way. Just two months ago, I was taking notes through Deftones’ discography, trying to figure out if I actually liked them or not.
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Now, I’ve purchased my fourth record from their catalogue. Pretty safe to say I dig them…
But the difficult thing with a band like Deftones is that their material is so consistent that it’s hard to quantify their albums in any sort of way. Since White Pony (next on my purchase list), all of their offer the same blend of (surprisingly enjoyable) numetal aggression with blissed out shoegaze atmospheres. Their earlier albums spent their track lists doing one or the other, sometimes in jarring juxtapositions. But their more recent works expertly meld the two extremes of their work into cohesive songs.
Koi No Yokan is one of the most laid back albums in their catalogue, but it is by no means toothless. Despite the synths and atmospheric textures that coat the record, this album absolutely rips.
After an ambient intro, “Leathers” smashes into an ear-splitting numetal verse. I was initially turned off by this track. Until I reached the chorus, which finds Chino singing one of the most desperate melodies of his career. “Gauze” likewise starts with a rhythmic heavy metal riff, before opening up into a wall of shoegaze noise in the chorus. On the other end, “Tempest” starts in a plodding march, before catching fire four minutes in and exploding.
And while, admittedly, this is Deftones trick, that doesn’t mean it ever gets stale. These guys are masters of their scene for a reason. And throughout this album, they offer absolutely no clues that they were ever a radio metal staple.
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They do however, offer “Entombed,” which is among my favorite songs ever. A shoegazy metal ballad filled with atmospheric synths and a chilled out tapped guitar line? Sign me up.

Record #393: Deftones – Gore (2016)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald
Not many late-90s/early 00s nu-metal bands are currently releasing albums this compelling.
​But as I’ve discovered lately, Deftones isn’t like most of their contemporaries. Their penchant for lush shoegaze and soaring melodies overshadowed their rap-metal tendencies over a decade ago. And since, they’ve only continued to create beautifully melodic alternative metal that doesn’t skimp on the punishment…
And their most recent effort, last year’s Gore, might be their most balanced release (notice that this, Deftones, and Saturday Night Wrist all made it into my collection ahead of White Pony. So save it).
While the group’s ballads have always been thick on the ambiance and melody (see: “Digital Bath,” “Change (In the House of Flies)”), their heavier tunes have often felt tied to their dated roots—even on albums as recent as Diamond Eyes. On Gore, however, the only 90s ghost haunting about is the tuneful, Hum-like space rock that informs “Pittura Infamante” and “Xenon.”What’s perhaps more remarkable is that while older Deftones albums had a (mostly) clear line between heavy and melodic tracks, Gore manages to do both at the same time (better than Saturday Night Wrist, better than Kai No Yokan). Opener “Prayers / Triangles” is the perfect example of this.
But even the heavier tunes have a melodic core. “Doomed User” chugs through alternating measures of five and six, until a melodic chorus breaks through like a ray of light. “Geometric Headdress” finds Chino screaming his head off, but the refrain (complete with an incredible off-time drum beat) is as soaring a melody as “Digital Bath.”
On the same token, the melodic tracks also have a bit of bite to them. “Hearts / Wires” alternates between some of the softest moments on their catalogue with soaring, punishingly heavy choruses. “Phantom Bride” follows up one of the most chilling ballads of their career with a break of heavy, heavy riffage.
All of this makes for what is not only one of the shining moments of Deftones’ career, but one of the finest pieces of alternative metal ever released.

Record #392: Deftones – Saturday Night Wrist (2006)

/ Nathaniel FitzGerald
In my quest to figure out how I feel about Deftones, I got the feeling that Saturday Night Wrist was a low point in the group’s career. So I ignored it for a while.
​That, my friend, was a mistake…
Because in my opinion, Deftones is at their beat when they’re mixing their ear-splitting metal chops with blissed out shoegaze. And nowhere do they do that better than on Saturday Night Wrist. This album spends the least amount of time chugging through nu-metally riffage. Instead, this album’s musical center is closer to My Bloody Valentine than Korn.
And it pays off.
Opener “Hole in the Earth” soars through a bombastic 6/8 signature. “Beware” is an ominous ballad that breaks into some of Chino Moreno’s most transcendent vocals. “Cherry Wave” out shoegazes even “Minerva.” “U,U,D,D,L,R,L,R,A,B,Select,Start,” the group’s only instrumental track, is a brilliant work of ambient math rock.
These sorts of transcendent tracks are exactly what makes Deftones stand above their contemporaries. And while (almost) every Deftones record has some dated, aggro-metal to slog through, this album has the lowest concentration. Instead, the weakest moment here is a vulgar monologue over a full-on electronica track.
​And if that’s the only thing keeping this album from being perfect, I don’t get the hate.