Deftones - Private Music: A Love Letter to Our Favorite Band

They're Back, and I'm Emotional About It

Five years. FIVE. YEARS. That's how long we've been waiting for new Deftones music, and honestly? I was starting to get that familiar ache that only comes when your favorite band goes quiet for too long. You know the feeling, scrolling through their old albums on repeat, watching live videos on YouTube at 2 AM, wondering if they'll ever capture that magic again. Well, friends, I'm here to tell you that Private Music doesn't just capture it, it bottles lightning and serves it up like the band never left.

A Quick Trip Down Memory Lane

For those who somehow missed the last three decades of incredible music, let me give you the Deftones story in a nutshell. These Sacramento legends started back in 1988, initially caught up in that whole nu-metal wave of the late '90s alongside bands like Korn and Limp Bizkit. But here's the thing, while everyone else was stuck doing the same angry rap-rock thing, Deftones were always different. Always more.

They broke through with Around the Fur in 1997, but it was White Pony in 2000 that really showed the world what they were capable of. That album was like nothing anyone had heard, heavy as hell one minute, dreamy and atmospheric the next, with Chino Moreno's vocals floating between whispered confessions and primal screams. They basically invented their own genre.

Through ups and downs (including the tragic accident that left bassist Chi Cheng in a coma for years), lineup changes, and the inevitable "will they ever top White Pony?" discussions, Deftones kept evolving. Albums like Diamond Eyes and Koi No Yokan proved they could still create magic well into their career. Then came Gore and Ohms, showing a band that refused to play it safe or repeat themselves.

Private Music: The Return We Needed

Now we're here, album number ten, and I'm not exaggerating when I say this might be their best work since Diamond Eyes. Maybe even better. The critics are calling it a "late career masterpiece" with a 91/100 on Metacritic, and for once, the critics and the fans are in complete agreement.

Producer Nick Raskulinecz is back behind the board (he did Diamond Eyes and Koi No Yokan), and you can immediately feel his touch. Everything sounds massive but never cluttered, atmospheric but never lost in the clouds. He gets Deftones in a way that few producers do he knows when to let Chino's voice soar and when to let Stephen Carpenter's guitars crush your soul.

The Songs That Matter

Let's talk about "Locked Club" – holy shit, this track. Chino's delivery is described as having an "almost ministerial quality," and I felt that in my bones the first time I heard it. It's like he's preaching the gospel of whatever transcendent headspace Deftones occupy, and we're all just grateful to be in the congregation.

"My Mind is a Mountain" (which, come on, that's such a perfect Deftones song title) showcases everything that makes this band special – the way they can make you feel weightless and grounded at the same time, how they blend beauty and heaviness like it's the most natural thing in the world.

The whole album feels like a conversation between their experimental side and their more accessible one. Some reviews called it "more experimental but also safer-seeming" than Ohms, which sounds like a contradiction but makes perfect sense if you know this band. They're pushing boundaries while still giving us those moments that remind us why we fell in love with them in the first place.

Why This Hits Different

Here's what gets me emotional about Private Music – it sounds like a band that knows exactly who they are at this point in their career. There's no trying to recapture their youth, no pandering to trends, no desperate attempts to sound "modern." It's just Deftones being Deftones at their most refined and confident.

Chino's vocals have never sounded better. At 52, the guy is still finding new ways to use his voice, still discovering melodies that shouldn't exist but somehow do. The rhythm section of Abe Cunningham and Sergio Vega is locked in tighter than ever. And Stephen's guitar work... man, he's playing like someone who's spent decades perfecting his craft and still loves every minute of it.

The Emotional Truth

Look, I know I'm being a fanboy here, but sometimes you need to let yourself feel things about the music you love. When your favorite band disappears for five years, you start to wonder if maybe their time has passed, if the magic is gone. Private Music is proof that some bands the really special ones, they don't lose it. They just get better at being themselves.

This album reminds me why I've been following Deftones for over two decades, why I've bought every album, seen them live whenever possible, and defended them in countless internet arguments. It's because they make music that sounds like what it feels like to be human messy, beautiful, heavy, transcendent, all at once.

Bottom Line

Private Music isn't just a return to form; it's a statement. After 35+ years, ten albums, and countless changes, Deftones are still the most reliable band in rock. Still the most uniquely themselves. Still capable of making music that hits you in places you forgot existed.

The critics are calling it "another career high from rock's most reliable band," and honestly? They're underselling it. This is the sound of a legendary band operating at the absolute peak of their powers, creating music that's both completely familiar and totally surprising.

We missed you, Deftones. Please don't stay away that long again.

Rating: 10/10 (because sometimes you need to just admit when something is perfect)