The hauntingly beautiful whispers of a quintessential 90s alternative metal band returned with Deftones’ newest album.

 Deftones’ “private music”  hit shelves and streaming on Aug. 22.

After breaking out in 1998 with their second album, “Around the Fur,” Deftones forged a legacy that broke through genre barriers.

With their third album, “White Pony,” Deftones built upon their previous success. By mixing elements of shoegaze and art rock into their sound, they pushed the bounds of what an alt-metal album could be.

In 2010, Deftones’ sixth album, “Diamond Eyes,” was released. It was extremely well-received and demonstrated that the band was thriving, unlike many other bands that rose to prominence during the nu-metal boom.

“Diamond Eyes” and its follow-up “Koi No Yokan” showed the band wasn’t doing anything the same. While the albums still held Deftones’ sonic essence, they were departures from the band’s breakout albums.

The hints of shoegaze present in “White Pony” became key elements of “Diamond Eyes,” and “Koi No Yokan” felt like a true culmination of Deftones’ discography.

In 2020, “Ohms” was released. While still a solid album, “Ohms” failed to reach the heights of its predecessors. It lacked the band’s traditional creative guts.

The album isn’t objectively bad, but it falls flat in comparison to its sister albums. Unlike its predecessors, the album never pushes the envelope in any interesting direction. 

With “private music,” Deftones tries to create an album that marries “Around the Fur” and “Koi No Yokan.”

It does interesting things, but never steps out of the bounds created by previous albums. Deftones’ roots in alt-metal and industrial music seep into the album’s core sound.

After producing “Diamond Eyes” and “Koi No Yokan,” Nick Raskulinecz returned for “private music.” He adds the touch of shoegaze that is signature to the band’s sound of the last 15 years.

Vocally, the album is strong. Lead Singer Chino Moreno’s iconic voice strikes a beautiful balance with the dark instrumentals. He shifts from his light, ethereal singing to very distinct, airy screams.

Every song carries the eerie essence that makes Moreno’s voice such an integral piece of the album.

The instrumentals also aim to impress. The band’s signature gritty guitars pair well with the vocals. Stephen Carpenter and Moreno’s simple, but sonically pleasing, riffs perfectly complement the songs they’re attached to.

Abe Cunningham’s drums are a solid addition, but are never a standout musically.

The true standout of the album is Fred Sablan’s basslines. They are the clear backbone of every song on the album and elevate the album musically.

The true problem with “private music” is how repetitive it is. The middle chunk of the album is too much of the same, and the highlights aren’t frequent enough to make the album feel worth the 42 minutes.

Track One: “my mind is a mountain” 8/10

The album’s opening track is an engaging one. The steady, gritty guitar grabs the listener immediately and pulls them into the album.

As the first song of the album, and its first single, it works really well. It has a very classic Deftones feeling that makes it a strong start. Moreno’s vocals on “my mind is a mountain” are the centerpiece.

Eerie and haunting, his voice adds depth to the song’s minimalistic lyrics.

In “my mind is a mountain,” there’s a mournful feeling that Moreno reinforces. It feels like he’s leaving everything on the track.

The song isn’t telling a story; it’s establishing a mood that it wants listeners to fall into. You’re meant to feel it as much as you’re meant to hear it. 

Track Two: “locked club” 6/10

For track two, Moreno takes on a grungy vocal quality. He hovers in the middle of his range as a singer, never falling into a whisper and never raising to a scream.

During the verses, Moreno yells at the audience more than he sings to them. This yell, which is very distinct from his scream, feels like some mixture of spoken-word poetry and post-grunge vocals.

While it does have an interesting sound, it can’t carry the song to anything special. The instruments do nothing to elevate the song into anything interesting.

The drums and guitars are blandly loud. The song is especially weak when compared to the rest of the album.

Track Three: “ecdysis” 9/10

Quite possibly my favorite song on “private music” is “ecdysis.” With track three, the band’s sound takes on an industrial vibe.

Sablan gets a nice, thumping bassline that forms the song’s rhythmic backbone.

The drums on “ecdysis” are the most standout on the entire album. The song breathes a breath of life into the album that is much needed after “locked club.”

On track three, Moreno’s vocals are a lot more scream-heavy. His voice adopts a banshee-like quality in his screams that makes this song feel distinct from the others.

Much like “my mind is a mountain,” “ecdysis” is meant to be felt. It’s a mood-piece of a song that invites the listeners to allow it to wash over them.

Track Four: “infinite source” 7/10

This is a song that I don’t have much to say about. “infinite source” sounds pretty, but feels shallow upon a re-listen.

Writing this, I’ve run into a roadblock. Unlike other songs, “infinite source” holds up on paper.

Its writing is on par with the rest of the album, and the same can be said for the instruments. Even yet, it falls flat in some way for me. 

Some intangible, abstract quality of the song holds it back from greatness. I would guess that this is a problem with me, not the song.

It’s a bit more lyrics-focused than the previous tracks, but there’s nothing rewarding to find beyond the surface-level reading.

Track Five: “souvenir” 6/10

The fifth song on the album is too long. It overstays its welcome by being six minutes of nothing special.

It’s frustratingly close to something interesting, but in every aspect falls short of its potential.

While it’s not a bad song, it’s definitely not a very good one.

Track Six: “cXz” 6.5/10

Deftones’ newest album brings us yet another song that is meant to evoke a mood rather than a specific thought.

The problem is that it’s a better mood piece than it is a song.

I think “cXz” is wonderful at evoking a specific feeling, but as a song, it lacks uniqueness. The middle section slogs a bit because of Moreno’s vocals. 

They’re still beautiful to listen to, but in the context of an album, they start to feel repetitive.

Instrumentally, the song is also more of the same.

It’s made well, but it feels like a first version of the song. More time and thought could’ve made it something special, but it lacks that in its present state.

Track Seven: “i think about you all the time” 8/10

Though the past few songs have been something of a slog for me, “i think about you all the time” is a breath of fresh air.

It slows down the pace, falling into something more akin to a ballad. The way Moreno’s voice pairs with the weepy-sounding guitars is a refreshing break from what the album has been up to this point.

As far as album pacing, this song is extremely well-placed. It is a nice reprieve from the heavy, mournful songs that dominate the front half of “private music.”

Track Eight: “milk of the madonna” 8.5/10

One of the album’s singles, “milk of the madonna” is a great follow-up to “i think about you all the time.”

It’s driven by a nice rhythm guitar part that’s backed up by a nice bassline. The drums aren’t doing anything particularly special, but they serve the song pretty well.

Lyrically, it’s very in line with the rest of the album. The real difference maker is Moreno’s delivery. He slightly tweaks his vocals to make the song stand apart from everything else.

Track Nine: “cut hands” 7/10

The album’s ninth track returns to something less impressive.

While it’s propped up by an awesome bassline, “cut hands” gets back to the  repetitive musicality that frustrates me about this album.

This is a song that has some really standout parts, but fails to bring them together in a way that feels like a cohesive finished product.

It’s okay, but I wish there was something more interesting to it.

Track Ten: “~metal dream” 7.5/10

This is another track that’s strength lies in its pace. It lets off the gas to let the listener soak in what the song really is.

As the album nears its end, this is a great song to be the penultimate.

The drums are mixed particularly well in this song and give them some real impact. Moreno and Carpenter’s guitars hit a nice, metal-ballad tone that really complements the vocals.

The ballad-y sound isn’t constant, though. The guitars can really pack a punch when they need to.

Overall, “~metal dream” has a sound and vibe that I wish more of the album would’ve taken on.

Track Eleven: “departing the body” 7/10

The final song on “private music” epitomizes what the album is. It’s okay, but forgettable.

It sounds pretty, but lacks depth. The bass is, once again, such an addition to the song, but nothing else is pushing the music towards something unique.

When I listen to “departing the body,” I’m not moved. 

Overall Rating 6.5/10

Deftones didn’t make history with “private music,” but it’s not a bad addition to their discography.

The biggest problem with the album isn’t what it is. The problem is what it’s not. At almost all times, it feels lacking in something to push it from good to great.

I regret that I didn’t connect with “private music” the way that I wanted to. I wish I liked it as much as I wanted to, but I couldn’t get there.

If you love this album, then I’m really glad. Art will always reach someone, and I’m glad this could do that for people.

Unfortunately, I am not one of those people.