ALBUM REVIEW: private music – Deftones
On their tenth album, alt metal icons DEFTONES return with private music, an album so gargantuan in nature that without hyperbole it is easily already an album of the year contender. In this renaissance of bands that found fame in the late 90s and early 00s, it is seemingly DEFTONES that are ahead of the curve and still delivering music of incredible quality that will stand the test of time and leave a huge legacy for the band in their wake.
Opening track my mind is a mountain wastes no time kicking the album off properly, enormous grinding guitars and thunderous drums blow away whatever cobwebs you have with a scintillating opening that makes you feel indestructible. Frontman Chino Moreno’s ethereal vocals and guttural screams create a dynamic melody that comes across as effortless which kicks off private music in grandiose style as it blends into the next track locked club. A continuation of my mind is a mountain, it creates a one-two punch as the intensity somehow ramps up and batters you with its wall of sound as Moreno’s voice sounds off with the use of reverb, once again bringing an ethereal nature to the record. ecydisis lives up to its name as the new era of DEFTONES is truly underway, reflective of their transformation in their sound from the mid 90s all the way to now. Vocally we have Moreno in the form of his life as he effortlessly switches between the extremes of soft singing and the wonderful screams.
indefinite source is a track that harkens back to an early 2000s sound and is easily one of the bigger sounding tracks of the record. With it being one of the “softer” tracks on the record that welcomes in the more casual listener. It’s a track where you can easily tell they’re aiming high with its arena sized riffs but that doesn’t detract from any quality whatsoever, this album is made for the biggest venues possible. The sonic bombardment continues with souvenir, a delightful combination of the shoegaze style and metal that we have come to know and love from DEFTONES. Throughout, there seems to be a duplicate vocal behind Moreno’s that gives the song a sort of otherworldly nature as the song continues at 100mph before ending abruptly and bringing in a wave of synths that continue the other worldly feel to the track as it comes to its dramatic climax as it bleeds into the next track. cXz is an absolute wall of sound which feels almost like a NINE INCH NAILS song on steroids, it’s oppressive nature hits you like a tonne of bricks and doesn’t let up one bit as it blends metal with industrial timbres that are all executed perfectly. milk of the madonna continues the onslaught of sound with a riff that has a spectacular bounce to it that is sure to get crowds utterly pumped when performed live. cut hands sees the band looking back at their nu-metal days with a track that truly makes it feel like a serious genre as Moreno effortlessly switches between rapping lines to screaming alongside a guitar riff tuned so low it may as well have its own gravitational pull, it’s truly a sumptuous treat for the ears.
The journey to albums end starts with metal dream once again adopting the nu-metal style with an industrial edge with a gloriously sludgy guitar riff to boot, for a band where the majority of the members are into their 50s, they play like they’re 25 years younger, the energy on display truly needs commending throughout private music. Ending the record in truly glorious fashion is departing the body which sees the band finally slow things down as we approach the end of the record. Opening on a bunch of fun little sounds that sound like they could be straight from the War of the Worlds musical, the track slowly bruises its way toward the end of the record. Moreno explores several singing styles throughout this, including one sung so deep you think it’s a different singer. It brings private music to a truly triumphant end.
By the end of this record you feel like you’ve run a marathon. But it is one hell of a journey and arguably one of the best records to come out of 2025. It shows that with this record, DEFTONES have well and truly earned their place amongst the greats of metal with private music instantly becoming a modern classic. It’s an album that shakes you to your core in all the best ways and beckons you for repeat listenings as soon as you hear its last note. If KORN can get a slot headlining Download Festival then there’s no reason DEFTONES can’t either, get them on that stage to tear Donnington a new one.
Rating: 9/10
private music is out now via Reprise/Warner Records.
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