Deftones – Private Music

Five years have passed since Ohms, an album that reunited Deftones with legendary producer Terry Date – the architect of their early sound. Now, with their tenth studio album Private Music, the band once again looks to the past, reuniting with another key figure in their evolution: producer Nick Raskulinecz. Best known for his work on the band’s Diamond Eyes (2010) and Koi No Yokan (2012), Raskulinecz helped usher in a new era for the band, infusing them with renewed focus and energy. That energy, it turns out, is still flowing.

Since the pandemic, Deftones have been experiencing something of a revival, drawing in a whole new generation of fans – particularly in the live enviorment. And Private Music arrives as both a response to and a product of that momentum.

So what does Private Music offer? In many ways, it’s exactly what you’d expect from a Deftones record – and that’s not a bad thing. Few bands have such a distinct sonic identity, and even fewer have evolved so successfully beyond their origins. Like Radiohead, Deftones have managed to break out of the box they were first placed in (nu-metal), using that foundation as a springboard rather than a cage.

With Raskulinecz behind the console, Private Music shares DNA with Diamond Eyes and Koi No Yokan, but it carves out its own space too. Where Ohms leaned into a direct, guitar-heavy approach, Private Music trades that for a more expansive, cinematic atmosphere. The guitars are still massive, but they serve a broader wall-of-sound approach, supported by lush keyboards and immersive dynamics. The power is there — just refracted through a wider lens.

The album wastes no time. Opener and lead single “My Mind Is a Mountain” kicks in without warning, clocking in at under three minutes but packing most of the hallmarks of classic Deftones. It’s followed by the equally punchy “Locked Club,” and a string of tightly crafted tracks that explore different shades of the band’s sound without ever losing cohesion. The first six songs, in particular, flow with seamless precision – from pacing to track order to even the timing of the silences between them. It’s a masterclass in album construction.

Despite its brevity – most songs hover around the three-minute mark – the album doesn’t feel rushed. And when Deftones do stretch out, they make it count. “Souvenir” stands out as a longer, more dynamic piece, falling somewhere between the glistening melancholy of “Sextape” and the threatening intensity of “You’ve Seen the Butcher.”

Raskulinecz’s production is a huge asset. His knack for building sonic architecture, honed on records with Alice in Chains and Mastodon, is fully on display here. The drums and guitars hit hard, but it’s the interplay with vocals, keyboards and ambient textures that elevate the record. This isn’t just heavy – it’s immersive.

Down-to-earth cinematic is perhaps a good way to describe Private Music. But it’s also surprisingly catchy in that hypnotic Deftones way. Hooks are there, but they often arrive twisted or fragmented, pulling the listener into unexpected directions. Many choruses might start predictably, only to veer left when you least expect them to. Time signatures shift subtly. Melodies linger without fully resolving. It’s this tension between accessibility and experimentation that keeps the songs so compelling.

The album finds a remarkable balance between urgency and atmosphere, aggression and introspection. Raskulinecz doesn’t just produce the record – he feels like a sixth member, helping the band weave all their elements together without dulling their edges. While Terry Date laid the foundation for Deftones’ sound on fist three records, Raskulinecz seems like the perfect partner for their current phase. Someone who understands where they’ve been, but also where they’re trying to go.

The record’s range is impressive. From the adrenaline blasts of “Cut Hands” and “Milk of the Madonna” to the moody introspection of “I Think About You All the Time” and “Departing the Body,” the band moves between emotional and sonic extremes without ever losing cohesion. It all feels of a piece.

Ever since White Pony, Deftones have been slowly shedding their genre tags, blending metal, shoegaze, and post-rock into something uniquely theirs. Private Music may be the most focused version of that blend yet. It’s a record that looks forward and backward at once, balancing Chino Moreno’s ethereal melancholy against Stephen Carpenter’s crushing riffs with dynamic, purposeful tension.

This may be the longest wait between albums in Deftones’ career, but the payoff is undeniable. The band sounds energized, focused, and fully in command of their sound. This is Deftones at their most cinematic, most balanced, and perhaps most complete since Diamond Eyes.

www.deftones.com