Deftones - Private Music - review
Deftones - Private Music - review
Tracklist
01. My Mind Is A Mountain02. Locked Club
03. Ecdysis
04. Infinite Source
05. Souvenir
06. cXz
07. I Think About You All The Time
08. Milk Of The Madonna
09. Cut Hands
10. ~Metal Dream
11. Departing The Body
A review by
RaduP September 30, 2025
The last time I talked about a new Deftones, I spent half of it musing about the concept of alternative metal and how Deftones were especially consistent within that wave. Most of what I said still stands (except for the part where I called Saturday Night Wrist a weaker point relatively, I've since repented), but I also think that it feels even more accurate for 2025 than 2020. There were already a lot of signs of a sort of resurgence of heavier alternative music in mainstream culture, and some of it is a sense of nostalgia and appreciation for that nu metal wave, which might as well have been the last time metal had a place in mainstream culture. For example a friend of mine told me about how much faster System Of A Down tickets sold out compared to the last time they played in his country.
But even within that resurgence, Deftones have a special spot, not only because their sound touches a soft erotic / melancholic chord that feels simultaneously anxious and seductive in a very atmospheric way (basically, it's a vibe for the Tik Tok generation as well), but it's also a sound that acted as such a strong influence for a lot of the acts that came out since, like Loathe, Thornhill, Fleshwater, all of which one wouldn't just describe as "alt metal influenced" but "Deftones-core" specifically. All of this makes it feel like even with this being the longest in-between-releases gap for the band, their presence was still very much felt in this time.
Gore and Ohms were the only Deftones albums to be "the new album" for me, and even I returned to a lot of songs from them ("Ceremony" from the latter especially) I still feel a slight disconnect between them and the previous material, not quite being able to see them within the same classic canon that I have no issue including Diamond Eyes and Koi No Yokan in. I have a much easier time getting over that disconnect for Private Music, and a big part of it is that Deftones are back with working with producer Nick Raskulinecz for this one, who they also worked with for Diamond Eyes and Koi No Yokan, both of which were more direct and streamlined albums compared to the more experimental Saturday Night Wrist.
Private Music does feel like it comes from that lineage of albums through its producer connection, and a band sounding streamlined does feel more logical in this context where there have been three decades since their debut (ah, the goddamn passage of time is at it again) and there's very little left to prove and the cultural demand is for Deftones being Deftones. But lack of overt experimentation aside, Nick is also likely the reason why the flow of Private Music is so seamless and why the mixing sounds so organic, making the listening experience one that's more inviting for the full listen than the previous two albums were.
Even with a somewhat predictable sound, there's still reason to look into the album on a song by song basis. It does make sense why "My Mind Is A Mountain" and "Milk Of The Madonna" were selected as singles, since even with multiple listens, they're the songs I feel the strongest familiarity to and the ones I'd be most excited to see on a live setlist. "~metal dreams" has a strange contrast of having the return of a hip-hop adjacent nu metal leaning, but also a huge melodic earworm chorus, and a strange ambient sound as it moves into "Departing The Body", which also has that baritone narration. Multiple songs have interludes/transitions that seem very well developed from an ambient soundscape perspective for mere interludes.
Deftones are the last band remaining in my "tier 0" of bands I have to see live. That's set to change with the tour for this album. Writing reviews for bands you love is always tough, as if the stakes are much higher, and you feel like an imposter for not being able to accurately describe a band you supposedly love so much. As much as I've spent time with Private Music and gotten to know it more intimately, it was all somewhat overshadowed by me knowing I have to write this review, and that being constantly on my mind. Usually, when this happens, I only get to properly fall in love with the album after my official duties are done and dealt with. The moment I hit the "Publish" button, I think I'll finally be ready to do so without any inhibitions.
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