SINGLE REVIEW - DEFTONES; 'LEATHERS'

DEFTONES; LEATHERS
8/10

They're back. They're still brilliant.

With bafflingly-titled* and much-anticipated new album Koi No Yokan slated for release on November 13th, Deftones gave us a first tasty morsel from that table in the form of Leathers. It's pure Deftones, in so much as it's spaced out, melodic, loud and heavy,  all at the same time. Therefore great.

A creeping, menacing ethereal synth/echoing guitar combo greets us, before a freight train of sound sweeps in. The unmistakable vocals of Chino; raw screams and dark softness, at all times delivered with the emotional depth that should nullify any claims** that he doesn't put his all into it. The dropped, growling guitar & bass combo - Sergio Vega, as Deftones' current bassist while Chi Cheng recovers from his near-fatal car crash, is doing a fantastic job - and powerful, precise drumwork; they all make for a great song, with the undercurrent of that intro all the way through. Make no mistake, this is an evil song. 

Leathers is Deftones at their best. The concoction of melody, crunching heavy-nicity and brooding evil that threatens to bubble to the surface at any point is what makes Deftones the brilliant band they are. The start lulls you into a false sense of security before the bulk of the song blasts in (it actually made me jump), and it swings and flows through deceptively softer sections to waves of big chugging noise. Sets an excellent tone for the rest of the album; just awesome.

Download Leathers for freesies from www.deftones.com

*It's Japanese for 'The Premonition of Love - I saw it on Deftones' FB, translated by a Japanese speaker. Thanks Hsin-Kai Wang!

**As far as I'm aware there are none such claims. It's for effect.