Performer Notes

Personnel: Chino Moreno (vocals, guitar); Annie Hadry, Serj Tankian (vocals); Stephen Carpenter (strings); Frank Delgado (keyboards, sampler); Chi Cheng (bass guitar); Abe Cunningham (drums).
Audio Mixer: Ryan Williams .
Recording information: Carrige House, Stamford, CT; Morning View House, Malibu, CA; The Airport, Burbank, CA; The Spot, Sacramento, CA.
Photographer: Lego .
Now reaching veteran status as one of the few 1990's-born nu-metal acts to remain vital, Deftones offer up their fifth full-length and first new release since 2003's spotty self-titled album. With legendary control-room master Bob Ezrin on board, Saturday NIGHT WRIST finds the band ambitious and inspired, truly putting their best foot forward. "Mein" features a haunting guest vocal from System Of a Down's Serj Tankian, while the brilliantly titled instrumental "U, U, D, D, L, R, L, R, A, B, Select, Start" shows that Deftones are maturing as writers and players. Elsewhere, "Pink Cellphone" intertwines spoken vocals with loops and samples, creating a disturbing soundscape. Vocalist Chino Moreno continues his legacy of vocal extremes--from clean melodies to ripping screams--best evidenced in "Rapture." "Xerces" is a luscious ballad, while "Rats! Rats! Rats!" and "Combat" have the grooving bombast that the group's fans have come to expect and love.

Professional Reviews

Rolling Stone (p.124) - 3.5 stars out of 5 --"[I]t's as dark as the Deftones have ever gotten, with sludgy stoner-rock bumping against prog-metal chops and scorched-earth atmospherics...."

Spin (p.97) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[H]aunting soundscapes full of ominously chiming guitars, crashing percussion, and frontman Chino Moreno's alternately melodic and guttural singing."

Entertainment Weekly (p.76) - "[The album] boasts some of the Deftones' best out-and-out metal tunes to date; 'Rats! Rats! Rats!' in particular is every bit as urgent an unsettling as its title implies..."

Alternative Press (p.192) - "Veering from caustic Tomahawk-esque extremes to deep-space, hyper-concussive lullabies, Saturday NIGHT WRIST proves yet again that Deftones have a corner on the transcendent-metal market."

Alternative Press (p.136) - Included in Alternative Press's "10 Essential Albums Of 2006" -- "[A]n album that's both epic and understated..."

Kerrang (Magazine) (p.44) - "Saturday NIGHT WRIST continues to set Deftones apart from any musical scenes and styles..."

Kerrang (Magazine) (p.67) - Ranked #14 in Kerrang's "20 Greatest Albums of 2006" -- "Sticking faithfully to their trademark sound while craftily expanding their sonic palate..."