Deftones "Private Music" Proves Nu-Metal Still Has a Future
The band's 10th album is one of their best
Last month, Sacramento Nu-Metal band Deftones dropped their 10th studio album Private Music. Coincidentally, this album also marks nearly 30 years since their debut LP Adrenaline released in 1995. Deftones have come a long way in 30 years, and their longevity is rare, especially for a band associated with a style of music that mostly died off in the mid 2000s. But part of their staying power has been the musical creativity that has long elevated the group far above their peers.
Jump back to the year 2000 when Limp Bizkit were singing about “Nookie” and doing choreographed dance routines at Wrestlemania, Deftones were releasing White Pony one of the most progressive and psychedelic metal albums ever crafted. Their forward-thinking vision kept them alive all those years, mentoring countless bands and honing their sound that was often brilliantly ahead of the curve, incorporating elements from shoegaze, ambient electronic, and even hints of dream pop. These things are now heavily used trends in heavy music, but few bands took them on before Deftones.
In 2025, the band has more popularity than perhaps even in their genre’s heyday, including a strong following from Gen Z and Gen Alpha. Just last week I was giving an oboe lesson to my 16 year-old student who walked into my office wearing a Deftones t-shirt! Mind you, this is a band that released their debut album when I was 3 years old…
But I will spare further pontification on Deftones storied career, and instead talk a bit about Private Music which has been perhaps the most captivating new release from this band in over a decade. I think a good reason for this opinion is that the band has managed to craft a sound that seems both old and new at the same time.
And there are definitely some striking new elements on this record, most notably the sound of bassist Fred Sablan who is perhaps most notable for his work playing with Marilyn Manson. Sablan is currently only a touring and session musician with the group, replacing longtime bassist Sergio Vega, who himself replaced founding bandmember Chi Cheng in 2008 after his tragic and ultimately fatal car accident (wear your seatbelt folks).
The first two tracks on this album, ‘My Mind Is A Mountain’ and ‘Locked Club’ bring the heavy riffs and feature guitarist Stephen Carpenter’s low-tuned 7 string guitar chugging away with syncopated rhythms, such as the nifty 3-over-2 figure that appears multiple times in the first song. Vocalist Chino Moreno also is displaying energy and grit on the opening of the album, even venturing into half spoken, half screamed verses on ‘Locked Club’. The previous two Deftones albums featured rather subdued grooves, and right away Private Music has a more direct and involved sound.
However it’s with ‘Ecdysis’ that things really open up and the character of the album starts to make itself known. The melodies, particularly the chorus, where Moreno really lays on the reverb and charm in his vocals, feel more optimistic. In many ways this album sounds like a mix between celebration and nostalgia, where even the ballads have a bittersweet note, such as ‘infinite source’ which is much more dreamy and melodic than previous attempts at the heartstrings the band has made (I’m looking at you Minerva).
The second half of the record is where the band really shows of their dynamic ability, floating between abrasion and minimalist scenic voyages. For instance, ‘I Think About You All The Time’ has all the downtempo swoon of a Smiths or Morrissey song, with a hint of Elvis or Orbison, drenched in distortion and reverb-of course. ‘Milk of the Madonna’ feels like a classic driving Deftones tune, with the guitar chords descending while Moreno’s vocals rise inversely howling into the delay-drenched abyss.
The final three tracks are what really sell me on the album however, with two of the band’s most nostalgia-tinged aggressive tracks in the form of ‘Cut Hands’ and ‘Metal Dream’, which feature the kind of heavy open-tuned Nu-Metal riffs that will remind fans of Around the Fur, and yes on these tunes Chino even raps, which is something we never thought we’d hear again from the 52 year-old vocalist. But the group finishes that burst of 90s inspired vigor with ‘Departing the Body’ which might be one of the best slow burns the band has ever written. The fact that the opening verse is just played by the guitar and features Moreno’s completely dry and un-effected vocals makes the atmosphere even more haunting and dramatic. Yes ,eventually the electronics and kit come back in with force, but the tone is set, and that intimacy establish at the beginning never really departs the song.
All this is to say that Deftones have reemerged with one of the most well-paced and complete albums of their career. It doesn’t quite reach the epic heights of White Pony or Saturday Night Wrist, but it feels dynamic and engaging from start to finish in a way that their previous few albums just didn’t. A fitting artistic achievement for their ever-expanding cultural cache.
I suppose I should talk a little about the sound? Well if I must… Deftones have been a bit of an oddity in the heavy music space, in that their albums have typically sounded fairly good. Previous albums have been mixed and mastered by engineers like Ted Jensen, Terry Date, and Howie Weinberg. Actually, Howie Weinberg has returned here to master this latest outing, with cutting for the vinyl release done at Sterling Sound by Joe Nino-Hernes.
My copy of this album arrived a little after the release date as I ordered the indie-store exclusive “Fog Grey” variant with an alternate purple cover. Having spent a bit of time streaming this release on Qobuz, and then finally receiving the vinyl version cut by Nino-Hernes, I can say the releases both sound full and dynamic. There is a bit of sweetness, particularly in the vocals and upper guitar frequencies that are present on the vinyl version that are just a bit more recessed on the digital stream that made me slightly prefer the vinyl. It’s not a perfect release though, as there is a bit of a distant presentation that makes drums feel recessed on both version, and things like the kick drum and toms feel a bit veiled and muffled, perhaps because they are mixed to fit more coherently into the overall “wet” sound of the album. Bass goes deep, but not in a very impactful or realistic sounding way.
The Indie-Exclusive variant on Fog Grey vinyl
Still, this is a pretty good sounding album, particularly for a 2025-released hard rock/metal album, but the “house sound” this band is clearly going for is one that’s probably not going to wow audiophiles. Aside from the vocal imaging and color which is actually quite pleasing, everything is just a bit thick, which is perhaps intentional, but it lacks the detailed punch and slam of more natural recordings.
But you shouldn’t buy this record for demoing your stereo, you should buy this record because it’s simply one of the best new rock records produced in years, with enough crossover appeal to woo listeners from multiple generations. Deftones always represented the bleeding edge of what rock and metal could be artistically, and Private Music is an intentional and bold step to further that legacy for a new generation of music fans.
