There remain some people who aren’t convinced that the Deftones are a special band, but if it’s possible to evaluate music subjectively, then few could argue that the post-alt metal quintet at least belongs on the ballot. For one thing, the Deftones Sound evolves (and occasionally just mutates), leading to a dynamic catalogue of resemblant but dissimilar albums. And like other rare, extra-interesting bands, Deftones elude classification and repeatedly outdo their, ahem, peers. Also, they have a killer drummer and an unobtrusive, artful guitarist (he’s so guitartful), a combo that ensures a ripping live show.

But what wows me about this band in 2010 is their handling of prolonged, agonizing tragedy. By shelving their near-completed sixth album, Eros, they seem to express a certainty of the day in the future where all of its authors will ably engage in its promotion and performance. For now, what guitarist Stephen Carpenter calls a whole “different Deftones” is enjoying a top-ten debut for the slim, slamming Diamond Eyes, a bonkers Fall tour with two other tweener juggernauts (Alice In Chains, Mastodon), and a healthy relationship with producer Nick Raskulinecz (Rush, Coheed And Cambria). Carpenter called back to Los Angeles from New York and spoke to Metal Sucks about both Deftones, weird talk radio, and the steamy night we shared in Milwaukee.

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I’ve been trying to organize my thoughts on the latest Unearth album, The March, for a couple of weeks now, and I’m finally waving the white flag of surrender. I have a lot to say about this album, some of it good, some of it bad, and I’m just gonna let it all hang out now in a little bit of a brain fart. So bear with me here…

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Blabbermouth posted this fan-filmed (read: crappy quality) footage of Unearth performing a new song, “My Will be Done,” at Wacken a couple of weeks back. From what I can hear, it sounds more or less like, well, Unearth. Which isn’t a bad thing.

Unearth’s new album, The March, comes out October 14 on Metal Blade. It reunites the band the with longtime producer Adam D. after they recorded their last album, In the Eyes of Fire, with Terry Date. Since I prefer the band’s Adam D.-assisted work to Fire, I am choosing to be optimistic about this one.

-AR

Despite being the universally-heralded godfathers of the dreaded nu-metal movement, The Deftones have always been kind of left-of-center and have somehow manages to remain kind of cool. Throughout their now 15+ year career, the Deftones have evolved into some kind of quirky, alternative (in the true sense of the word) metal band that has somehow managed to straddle the line between art and commercial viability quite well.

That said, the band’s last two albums — 2003′s self-titled and 2006′s Saturday Night Wrist — have been solid but ultimately lacking in that intangible element that made the band’s earlier output special. The band has kind of drifted down an experimental path that they’ve dabbled in but not fully embraced, but these dabblings have hinted at something that I feel the band has yet to explore.

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So, yes, we saw Unearth on Friday night*, and they pretty much slayed it. There wasn’t quite as much jumping off of amplifiers as I might have liked, but their set was violent – I mean, I saw one dude come out of the pit with blood absolutely gushing from his head – so I guess that more than makes up for it.

The big news of the night (at least for music dorks like us) though, was that vocalist Trevor Phipps announced from the stage that the band will be entering the studio to record a new album in June – with producer Adam D. Unearth fans will remember that Adam D. produced most of the band’s old albums (including their breakthrough, The Oncoming Storm), but that the band’s most recent release, III: In the Eyes of Fire, was done with Terry Date (Pantera, Deftones, etc.).

I’m more than a little curious to know why Unearth are going back to Adam D. – not that I think the reunion is a bad thing (I actually much prefer Storm to Fire). The documentary included on the band’s recent DVD, Alive from the Apocalypse, indicates that they had a good working relationship with Date. So was it a money issue? A scheduling issue? Or, having seen other people and sown their wild oats (so to speak), is Unearth now ready to settle down with their high school sweetheart?

In any case, hopefully we’ll get a new Unearth album before the end of the year (the band played a single new riff on Friday night – it sounded suspiciously like the breakdown from Pantera’s “Domination”). In the meantime, if you haven’t watched Alive from the Apocalypse, you probably should – both the documentary and the concert film included on it are killer.

-AR

*It’s more than worth mentioning that Shadows Fall headlined, and I think they played the most energetic set I’ve ever seen them perform. Craziness.

A month or so ago we gave a rave review to the new Emanuel album Black Earth Tiger, which is some sort of modern amalgamation of the Deftones, Quicksand, Helmet, Faith No More etc. What’s more, Terry Date produced it and it sounds fucking killer. In short, it rules. Check out the video for the first single “Cottonmouth,” in which hot metal chicks beat the shit out of each other intercut with fake live footage of the band.

-VN

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