It has almost become a music cliché to talk of how conflict within a band leads to exemplary music. If this is the case, fans of Deftones should rejoice. Saturday Night Wrist has finally arrived after a year of delays and numerous rumors of the band's near demise at the hands of recording pressures.
The album mirrors the conflict within the group in the constant push-and-pull between vocalist Chino Moreno and the rest of the band. Where the guitars and drum work suggest an equally ferocious response from the vocals, Moreno remains reserved, choosing to croon where most frontmen would scream. Similarly, jagged riffs are placed next to equally dense, dreamy passages to create a decidedly disorienting effect.
While still relying on the soft/loud dynamics that have become a staple of alternative metal, Deftones have continued the expansion of their horizons. Starting with 2000's White Pony they have added disparate elements of electronica, goth and hardcore to their musical palette. On Saturday Night Wrist, the band manages to wear their influences well, whether it's the straight-up metal found in the hard-hitting "Rapture" and "Rats!Rats!Rats!" or the synth-heavy electronica on "Pink Cellphone."
Deftones have little in common with their contemporaries; their style has always been closer to the shoegaze of My Bloody Valentine than the funk metal of Korn. For instance, cuts such as "Beware" and "Xerces" utilize layers of distorted guitars coupled with ethereal and at times incomprehensible vocals to create a lush, haunting atmosphere.
Moreno's voice works not simply as a mouthpiece for each song's dark, cryptic lyrics, but also as a fifth instrument that complements the band's diverse soundscapes. His lyrics often have little meaning in and of themselves; words coalesce to express incongruent feelings of loss, frustration and happiness.
Moreno even delves into new territory on the political "Combat," which surprisingly presents the album's most straightforward lyrics: "This time the finger's pointed right at you / Whose side are you on, whose side are you on?"
The album's only low point comes on "Pink Cellphone," where guest vocalist Annie Hardy's nonsensical, scatological ramblings add little to the song's glitchy beat. Fortunately, Serj Tankian (System of a Down) single-handedly redeems the band's decision to include guest vocals. He makes a noteworthy appearance on "Mein," complementing Moreno's mournful howling with his distinctive baritone.
The most noticeable difference between Saturday Night Wrist and Deftones' previous work is not the loss of the muscular guitar work, but rather the subtle demise of the devil-may-care attitude. The songs on Saturday Night Wrist are more structured. While the band might be comfortable with this format, their tightness has come at the expense of the energy and relentless innovation that permeated their last two albums, White Pony and Deftones.
It's not that Deftones don't push; it's that they don't push far enough. A chorus here, a bridge there -- they all glimmer with the possibility of a musical awakening -- but these expectations are rarely met in the form of a truly radical sonic experience that listeners have come to expect from Deftones.
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