I mean, I still think it’s a great record, it’s definitely the best of the records I listed (even if I would sooner reach for Adrenaline, which grows on me more and more with each listen). not a single one of this band’s records are anything less than good, at bare minimum. I always have a hard time really pinning down what it is about it that makes it less appealing to me. basically, what it comes down to is that I feel like what that record does best isn’t necessarily what I come to this band looking for. it has a distinctly brighter/sunnier/more optimistic tone than pretty much anything else in their discography. I think it eschews a lot of the band’s more off-kilter tendencies in favor of a more straightforward, leaner approach. I also feel like, while there are some absolutely massive riffs on it, overall it leans heavier into their melodic sensibilities and less into their more aggressive ones. I can see how for some that would make it a favorite, it’s not as challenging of a listen as some of their other records can be, but I think for me it is less interesting because of it. I had just recently gotten into Deftones when it dropped and I do have fond memories of the time period when it came out, and it absolutely ruled my summer 2010. at that point I actually probably would have considered it one of their best records, but as time has passed and my tastes have changed I have gravitated away from it and more towards their other work.
I'm the most basic Deftones fan in that my favorite albums are Koi No Yokan, Around the Fur, and White Pony, my least favorite album is Gore, and my favorite song is be quiet and drive (which is also the greatest song ever written)
ATF is my favourite and My Own Summer and Be Quiet And Drive are all-time classics But I enjoy all the albums aside from Gore, which is just kinda unmemorable for me
SNW always sounds one polish away from greatness to me...like they forgot to have one last band meeting to get the sequencing and track selection up to snuff.
Half of it is great but SNW is still my least favourite. Gore doesn't have as many highs but I prefer it as a full album listen — I can happily listen to the couple of mid-range tracks in the middle as flow pieces, and the transitions between songs are really well done. There's more that irritates me on SNW. As @nohandstoholdonto said though, it is close to a miracle that it's still as good as it is. It's funny that Cherry Waves has become as popular as it is, after hearing Chino say that constituent parts of that track were recorded in about five different places, spread out over a relatively long period of time. It's pretty apparent that by the time Shaun Lopez took over the production, he and Chino were having to piece it together.
snw is my favorite for sure, that run of self titled -> team sleep -> snw is my favorite period of tones adjacent music and each record gets better
Best band. No bad albums. Probably my favourite all time band. And since we're doing rankings: 1- White Pony 2- Around The Fur 3- Koy No Yokan 4- Diamond Eyes 5- Deftones 6- Omns 7- Saturday Night Wrist 8- Adrenaline 9- Gore Around The Fur is a very close second. Koy, Diamond and Self Titled can easily be interchanged depending on the mood. Top 5 best tracks: 1- Be Quiet And Drive 2- Digital Bath 3- Bloody Cape 4- My Own Summer 5- Knife Prty
Saturday Night Wrist has lost it's allure with me recently but it does have Hole In The Earth which alone makes it amazing, as well as one of their most under-appreciated tracks (Combat)
Diamond Eyes and Koi No Yokan are peak Deftones for me. Those two albums are truly amazing. I listened to Gore and Ohms for the first time in a long time and I prefer Gore. Think Ohms might be my least favourite album by them, except for Adrenaline. The new song is good, but it doesn't yet make me really excited. Let's see how the full album turns out.
The Gore slander truly bums me out, listening this morning and "Doomed User" is so insanely good, top 10 Deftones track for me easily