April 2026 Featured Release - The Gateway Edition

Alright everyone its been a good LONG while since we featured a Deftones album in the Gateway (I am probably the one responsible for that OOPS!) but that streak ends now with Private Music. I really enjoyed this record and think that it is the best thing they've released since Diamond Eyes. If you're a Deftones fan, you owe yourself Private Music.

Fair warning: if you didn't like Deftones before, this album will likely not change your mind. I still recommend that you check it out regardless.

https://open.spotify.com/album/1gmWnG5TeRj91Tdm2lpEvJ

https://metal.academy/releases/61927

I ALWAYS enjoy a Deftones album as they're quite simply the most consistent alternative metal act to ever have hit the global scene & they never disappoint. They are kinda AC/DC-ish in that you'll never be surprised by what you receive though. For all the hype around the scope of their influences, every Deftones record sounds pretty much the same as there's never a drastic departure from their past glories. They just tend to experiment a little with what they put in the gaps between the heavy stuff that makes up most of each record. In saying that though, boy do they know how to write a chunky alternative metal song & that's still very evident on what is now their tenth full-length album.

Unlike many people, I'm not gonna claim that "private music" is some kind of return to form because the truth is that these guys have never dropped their game. 2016's "Gore" record has been unfairly treated while their last one "Ohms" is nothing short of an unheralded classic as far as I'm concerned so I have no problem admitting that I always expect gold from this group. And "private music" does offer more gold, perhaps not the shiniest gold they've produced, but gold nonetheless. And that's enough for me, ya know? Sure, I will say that I think "private music" is probably the least impressive Deftones record since their debut "Adrenaline" but it's still a beautifully produced effort that further highlights how important these Sacramento dudes have become over the years.

Opener "My Mind is a Mountain" is one their finest works & hit me like a tonne of bricks while "Cut Hands" sits in a similar class to someone like Tool. There are three or four numbers that see the quality levels dropping a touch (generally when they make an attempt at more melody as I greatly prefer a screaming Chino over a thick wall of chunky alt-metal riffage) but there's nothing like a dud to be found here. I just could have done with a couple more classics to justify the enormous praise this release seems to be receiving from fans at the moment. I love Deftones & I love this record. It's not any stronger & doesn't really differentiate itself all that much from anything else they've done since their very early days though so it's certainly not gonna convert any naysayers.

For fans of Fleshwater, Thornhill & Bleed.

4/5