Long after their 'nu-metal' contemporaries have bitten the dust, Deftones still show no signs of floundering. The fact that the near-perfect White Pony was released around the same time as Korn's Issues and Limp Bizkit's Chocolate Starfish, says it all really.
Yet the Sacramento outfit looked in danger of losing this credibility, as their self-titled fourth album veered dangerously back to the adolescent screamo that characterised their breakthrough years. Thankfully, new single Mein, taken from the undervalued Saturday Night Wrist, shows this to have been no more than a blip.
Dominated by lush production techniques, the influence of Pink Floyd's Bob Ezrin and Far's Shaun Lopez shine through, with supersonic fills combining fluidly with the crushing riffery that has always been the epitome of the band's sound. Complex time changes and Chino Moreno's breathy vocal complete a gigantic sound that steadily thuds out its melodic force.
The defining moment of the track, however, is the sultry chorus sung by System Of A Down's Serj Tankian. The Armenian-American's deep, rumbling vocal contrasts perfectly with a soaring body of down-tuned guitar work. With more interesting link-up between verse and chorus, this would have been a collaboration to rival the Maynard James Keenan-led Passenger. As it is, it remains a potent reminder that Deftones are still very much a force to be reckoned with.
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