Deftones
Around the Fur
(Maverick Records)
Years from now, metal afficionados will realize what some of us knew years ago. Adrenaline was, and always will be, a landmark album for heavy metal. The debut album from the Deftones paved the way, along with Korn’s self-titled debut, for a whole new generation of metal fans. Crazed and manic frontmen are now par for the course, like big hair in the ‘80s, but for a while there, the sonic assault of Chino Moreno’s vocals were a force of unknown origin, a high-powered attack on the senses that left audiences gaping in wide wonder, uncertain what to think of the hardcore-metal hybrid that utilyzed punk and hip hop in their most primitive senses to bring metal to the street level. And it hasn’t been the same since. They say if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, but the Deftones are far from complacent on their follow-up release. Around the Fur beats the low end to the same bludgeoning extreme, and Stephen Carpenter once again delivers a din to wake the dead on guitars. But the full throttle attack is given some slack, just enough to hang the listener with, turning first single “My Own Summer (Shove It)” into a hook-heavy noose that snaps hard, using the occasional calm to strengthen the attack and hone the musical assault. The strategy holds throughout, delivering a death blow on “Headup,” co-written by Max Cavalera and featuring the former Sepultura frontman on vocals. Don’t be scared, give it a poke...  What’s hiding Around the Fur is far too intense to keep idle.
Paul Gargano