Diamond Eyes - User reviews (song by song), thoughts, favorites

[rock_n_frost]

here's the first reactions :

The most original thing they've ever put out.

Too early for me to call personally but it's really fucking amazing. I will say that it's Chino's best vocal performance since WP. For sure.

I need like 50,000 headbanging smiley icons for the end of Royal.
And Frank? All I gotta say is holy fuck.

This will be hard to top as best album of 2010 for me...

Also, i'm SO buying this... thanks for the awesome music deftones

truly amazing perfomance by chino... again he changed his vocalsstyle/sound. Every album he reinvents himself, maybe even moreso than Patton...

HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!!

royal and prince are awesome,one of their best.

ill have to agree with people saying this doesn't sound like deftones at all

this is WAY better lol

Maybe its because im listening to it for the first time, but damn this actually may unseat ATF as my favorite album. I def did not feel like this after i listened to SNW no where near. every second is fuckin amazing

I'll be honest, call me a pussy...i'm a grown man and i have shed a tear....yes i am a big fat pussy!....happiest day of my life!

way too tempting

as much i was disappointed at snw after the first listen, im as amazed after the first listen at DE. at times jaw dropping.
royal, oh man music doesnt get any better than this,makes adrenaline pump thruough my veins makes my head spin,
fuck i dont know whats up or down.and what an awesome ending.
prince cool and beautiful as fuck, got som lovers vibes. and risk is an absolutely fantasic song with beautiful effects.

not a big fan of sextape thou,kinda team sleepish. although would fit as acloser

the synths and effects are so great in this record i almost suspects it isnt frank, maybe some professional producer guy at times

after the first couple of songs it def. starts to get softer, very emotional. lovely stuff. totally not like any other record of deftones. thats why I love it. thank you so much!

Incredible album. Not a single weak song.
Chi will be proud.

Definitely. There are a very small number of albums that I dont skip any songs on, and this will probably be one of them. Songs grow on me more and more. Ahhhh, new Deftones...

For me it's an huge explosion of anger, love, romance, vitality and a lot more. It's like every member had TOO MUCH to contribute, but they successfully achieved to mix everything to a natural... thing. Everything just fits. Truly unbelievable, absolutely not what I'd expected. What a rich sound, so much textures, so old school (at times), but so futuristic and new. There's just not a single song I don't like. And I can't mention one song that's awesome, because for now they're almost equally awesome. I'm totally blown away. THAT'S the reason why these guys are unique. God, I'll listen the shit out of it for the next month.

when deftones did a new album every bands on the earth should STOP, SIT BACK and LISTEN

Diamond Eyes is officially my new favourite Deftones song. The chorus is fuckin' amazing and Stephs guitar work is just perfect. He really has mastered the rythm aspect of his guitar playing. I love how he's made Meshuggah-esque riffs sound more melodic and fit into some beautiful songs.

But anyway, anyone who's trying to stand on the moral high ground and say that this is a bad day for Deftones is deluding themselves. 1. They don't make hardly any cash off album sales, so what does it matter?

The positive aspect to this leak is the outrage that it's been leaked so early and the momentum of it being passed around to new fans or potential new fans will be huge. Thus bringing more people to their shows. Which is what it's all about it. Anyone who likes an album enough will go out and buy it anyway.

this album is fucking amazing. the boner i received upon first hearing it totally broke my monitor.

I'm lovin it so far...

been waiting for an album like this, love it

This is great, best thing I've heard from them since Atf in my opinion. Not their heaviest by far (don't get me wrong, they still bring the heavy with some great riffs and breakdowns) but just really, really good. It seems to feel a bit brighter emotionally than the last couple albums. I'm getting a bit of a Quicksand vibe from parts of Risk and I do hear a bit of a Pumpkins sound on some songs. It's very diverse also, can't wait to get out of work so I can really turn it up. It really is a great album, I'll be listening to this until I completely wear it out  

And yes, I'll be there day 1 to buy it.

I already complimented on it earlier, but Chino's voice on this seriously sounds like he's 10 years younger. The processing on it in some songs is still the same as always too, good shit. I love it.

I don't understand why people would even compare this album to ones that came 10 and 13 years ago.  Yes it obviously sounds like the newer albums but it's much more focused.  That's the main difference.

Chino was right about the whole night time feel of the album. Loving it.

WOW I JUST HEARD THE ALBUM..MY JAW IS STILL DROPPED ..FUCKING WOW..ITS FUCKING EVIL MAN, I WAS SAD BECASUE I THOUGHT I WAS GUNNA HAVE TO GO TO AFGHANISTAN WITH SKATES AND EYES BUT I GOT THE WHOLE FUCKING THING, A GREAT SOUNDTRACK FOR KILLIN HAJIIS

some of their best work ever. a much more mature sound. i'm loving it to no end. always pays off to be a deftones fan...except the 4 years between thing. i'll be right there at the record store on may 18th and of course i know in the years to come i'll be buying many more copies, as i do all my cd's.

OH. MY. GOD.
They fucking did it.  
They fucking knocked it out of the park.  
Met every expectation.
This is the album I've been waiting for since WP.
GREAT.  Not good.  GREAT album.
My god.
I'm speechless.
I'm in love.    

This is probably the most coherent Deftones album to date.

what the fuck happened on this album  , i love every single second of it , absolutely perfect
waiting to have the cd on my hands

Solid...They've evolved like whoa... Its for sure something new to swallow... I'm loving every second and havent even heard the whole things yet...

GOOSEBUMPS...Every song....Fantastic...Pure Genius...I dunno if its cause weve waited so long or were just excited its new Deftones but it sounds amazing...We say it for every album but this actually has a feel to it that hits home...Doesnt sound like they were tryin very hard...Has a very natural feel to it...Chinos voice and singing sound effortless...Some of his best to date IMO...Still cant get over how amazing this is..And again not just saying it because its a new Deftones album...

Frank is a fucking pro on this album

3 times through now.  Words cannot describe how badass Prince and Royal are.  This album summarizes every reason why I have jammed this band for over 13 years now.  It's VERY complete.

It is a great album.  Definitely love every track on it, and I'm telling you, you gotta listen to that scream on Royal at 3 minutes, speachless, they really hit home with this one.

[rock_n_frost]

1- Diamond Eyes    : An awesome opening for the album....the only annoying thing is the chorous part plays 5 times in 3:08 lenght song
2- Royal    : One of the best song of the album. It sounds better after listening DE. The last part is dark and classic and last scream is Chinos best scream we ever heard..
3- Cmnd/ctrl  : Old school FTW..Smells like a fresh and new stye of Adrenalin. Awesome riffs & awesome vocals, everything fits perfect..
4- YSTB : Wow..What an awesome song ! so different..one of the characteristic song of the album..
5- Beauty School : Awesome drums by Abe with lovely guitars and back guitars..I wish the first ending verse (from 0:40 to 0:50) repeat...and if the chorous part would sound like the ending (4:20), it would be the best song we have ever heard after Digital Bath..My guess that song was the ''nylons and suspanders''
6- Prince : Best song of the album..Its definetely another Deftones classic. Its so Deftonish..Everything is perfect on this song..
7- Rocket Skates : We already heard it, its an awesome song
8- Sextape : Another classic of Deftones..A little bit Team Sleep taste but its all about Deftones.
9- Risk : Cool riffs with cool lyrics
10- 976-Evil : Im not into the chorous part yet, i really dont understand what abe,stef and chino does on chorous..
11- This place is dead : A song for trip things..Sounds like a SNW song (in a good way), a cool closer..

overall ;

This album has every kind of music, its like they did summary of their back with new futuristic view

Thanks Deftones, awesome work...

[Far away]

Its weird.. when S/T came out (yes i got really excited with that record, still love it) i didnt know what i should expect from SNW, with all the problems they were facing and stuff. I got a little disappointed with SNW.

Speaking about DE, i had kinda the same feeling, i was affraid the same thing could happen because of Chi's accident, you know? BUT im glad i was wrong.

When i first heard Rocket skated i didnt like it that much. Its a good song to hear it live but im not a big fan of the record version (fits good on the record though). The next song, DE, increased my expectations a LOT. I've been waiting for a song like this for ages. It has everything i like. Its heavy with a good vibe. Not just heavy. I fell in love immediately.

The whole record (i really dont know how they did it) sounds like they were in the same spot, not arguing or fighting around in how it should sound like the previous records (aka Stef vs Chino).

I really like how it grows on you as you hear song by song. Its cohesive. Steph rubs a whole package of new and diversified riffs, showing he maybe cant solo but he is more than a metal head. He created killer riffs/chorus with a fucking 8 strings guitar without falling into the 'only heavy' field. It's fantastic.

Sergio is a good bass player, anyone who likes Quicksand knows. Some of his basslines are just amazing. If theres a person who can makes justice in Chi's place, its him (dont get me wrong, im not saying hes better or anything like that). He is a friend of the band since forever, i think that also helped.

This record is Franks/Chinos record imo. They totally steped up on this one. I just cant say how suprised i am to see that Chino still can sing at this level. Its just unbelievable. Franks finally got his credit. Abe is the background that suport the whole chaos that this record is. Hes at the top of his game, like always.

I cant stop listening to this shit. When you think they cant impress you anymore, bam..
Im glad. They are one of the most different and talented band out there. I dont understand why they dont have the credit they really deserve.

ps: sorry i didnt make a song by song review! i Thought i'd be better if i write about the record as a whole. Im too lazy..

[Moz]

You know what I like about this record, other than the fact that its the first time since White Pony that they got the production spot on? I like that ATF and White Pony are my two favourite Deftones records and I can't choose between them, because they're both so different and perfect. It's the same with Diamond Eyes. It's the third album of Deftones that's really unique and perfect in my eyes. I mean, for a band to release one all-changing, perfect record (White Pony) is no small feat and mostly they never overcome it. But they've done it again. That's some serious achievement.

[lostpilot]

my thoughts from another thread.

Generally speaking I did enjoy the album quite a lot, but not as much as I had expected.
But that's nothing bad, really.

Diamond Eyes.. as an opener is quite a good song, though I'm somewhat turned off by the instrumentals on the chorus, but the lyrics do kinda drag me up to the goodness anyway. The sudden jump to Royal and CMND/CTRL (yes, we all expected an another konami code song) was kinda expected for the first part of an album, which was written in a couple of months. Overly speaking the instrumental part is not the strongest player in some of the songs (for example, Risk, CMND/CTRL etc; where singing/lyrics is the main ingredient, kinda), but then it is completely revived on You've Seen the Butcher, which is a bliss to hear. What I love is the somewhat Team Sleep'ish outcome of the chorus, where the chorus becomes more of a bridge, yet still fully blows your mind away.

Beauty School was nice, and I quite saw the reference towards Digital Bath, it was okay I guess - not bad, not too good, did not imprint on my mind as easily as, say, Butcher, Sextape etc. Prince.. well, the only thing I remember of this song is it was quite emotional, nothing musically yet; but what do I expect from a first-timer, only the majorly accessible or wonderful musically songs get written into my head. Rocket Skates - well, at first listen (couple of months ago, live one) did not do the trick for me, but after watching the video couple of times, I kinda fell into this "increased repetition" based song. Now it is okay - glad I did not overlisten to it as a single. And then the good part..

..Sextape. yeah, a slow emotional song. Change, BQAD, Anniversary, Cherry Waves. Mellow stuff.. highly sexual, lol. Favorite I guess. I did not care much for Risk anyway. It was okay. 976-EVIL or should I say Cheng-song, was highly emotional, and did kinda set the tone for This Place is Death - a LOST inspired (lol) emotional finale. Well, not as much finale as just being emotional. I kinda wished there was some kind of explosion at the very end, cause emotionally driven power chords go throughout this album and it becomes nothing new at the last song, but I guess you cannot want too much for a "two-month written album" from a band that takes years to fully shape their albums.

All in all - major pros: emotionally charged, bringing back the sexy/porn/rape/even filthy atmosphere (which makes Deftones evidently different from most new wave metal bands), quite well sculpted. Cons: sometimes a bit dull instrumental part, the individual song structure kinda too traditional. Just my thoughts..

[nyquil_addict133]

This is definetely going to have to grow on me. Nothing stood out or blew me away like my first listen to S/T. Surprisingly their softest album. mix of White Pony and Saturday Night Wrist.

[Bergerac]

With Diamond Eyes, I like the verses, but like has been said before, the chorus is just not them, to me. Not a dealbreaker though, and it's the typical single anyway. Royal I think is the actual 'old school' track. This is the one that most embodies the classic sound, more than CMD/CTRL, probably due to the riff. Obviously likeable. I think the reason CMD/CTRL sounds a lot more new school over Royal, is due to the verse vox/rhythm. YSTB is interesting because it has a lot of the Ezrin demo sound to it, one of my favourites. I think the whole rhythm sound is where I was expecting SNW to go after Buffalo, and this track does a great job of realising that a little for me. Reminds me a lot of Ezrin Demo 5. Beauty School is, I'm guessing, what became of that music we heard on the studio blog videos. Nice verse tune, overall just a solid track. Really like the stark outro, trademark move. Prince is interesting, starts with kind of a Lucky You vibe, brooding and experimental. Rocket Skates is a good solid track, really like the melodies. Sextape, c'mon, let's be honest. It's fucking Team Sleep, but at least it's just one track and not a bad surprise anymore like it was on SNW. That said, I do really like that it actually sounds fairly fucking romantic for 'Sextape'. I think a WGTB type 'lusty' track for a song called 'Sextape' would've been clichéd as fuck, this song does a nice job of breaking that convention. Just a shame it isn't quite as Deftonesy as it should be in terms of the style in the sound. Risk is the one that's confusing me. I think it's largely because Chino's voice sounds a bit too different at first. The music is mostly ok though, chorus is quite S/T which I'm digging. 976-Evil is THE track I think, and funnily enough it's the chorus that I like the most. I think that 976 is to DE, as Battleaxe is to S/T, just a different atmosphere. It has the same thing going on with that guitar phrase that changes the chorus halfway through, that BA did. I have a thing for left-field notes like that. The whole song is more like a huge 'sigh' though, like Minerva, so I'm digging that. This Place Is Death is ok, but it's that dreaded underwhelming closer.

CMD/CTRL, YSTB, 976-Evil, and Royal are easily my favourites. Beauty School, Prince and Sextape get points for being interesting.

Overall I like it a Hell of a lot more than SNW, and I'm definitely buying. Just wish I could buy it tonight. This sounds at least a lot more logically like what would've come out after S/T, so I'm happy. I've heard all this via Youtube, so when they go down I'll just have to wait 'til release I imagine.

[ToneDef]

I jumped on here right as I got in bed last night and saw it had leaked. I was like what the fuuuuuck... Set that shit to download, went to the kitchen, pulled another bong or two and came the fuck back. I fucking swear, when I got all comfortable and played Diamond Eyes in bed I had the biggest fucking grin on my face. I was a fan of the band during the gaps between wp/st and st/snw and neither of those gave me a smile like that on a first listen.

I'm not gonna do a track by track thing right now because I'm still familiarising myself with the whole thing. But I fucking love this record. I love the aggression on it as much as the beauty. It's perfectly balanced and well structured. It still sounds like the band we know and love, but with yet another twist on their sound. It's a very, very confident sounding record. It's got a certain feeling about it I get from Around The Fur and White Pony. I love all their albums, don't get me wrong, but those two are my fucking bad boys. Diamond Eyes is on the same level.

It makes my dick incredibly hard.

[Starz]

I really fucking hate this rock_n_frost dude.

[alio die]

I really fucking hate this rock_n_frost dude.

hahaha

[E-Money]

With Diamond Eyes, I like the verses, but like has been said before, the chorus is just not them, to me. Not a dealbreaker though, and it's the typical single anyway. Royal I think is the actual 'old school' track. This is the one that most embodies the classic sound, more than CMD/CTRL, probably due to the riff. Obviously likeable. I think the reason CMD/CTRL sounds a lot more new school over Royal, is due to the verse vox/rhythm. YSTB is interesting because it has a lot of the Ezrin demo sound to it, one of my favourites. I think the whole rhythm sound is where I was expecting SNW to go after Buffalo, and this track does a great job of realising that a little for me. Reminds me a lot of Ezrin Demo 5. Beauty School is, I'm guessing, what became of that music we heard on the studio blog videos. Nice verse tune, overall just a solid track. Really like the stark outro, trademark move. Prince is interesting, starts with kind of a Lucky You vibe, brooding and experimental. Rocket Skates is a good solid track, really like the melodies. Sextape, c'mon, let's be honest. It's fucking Team Sleep, but at least it's just one track and not a bad surprise anymore like it was on SNW. That said, I do really like that it actually sounds fairly fucking romantic for 'Sextape'. I think a WGTB type 'lusty' track for a song called 'Sextape' would've been clichéd as fuck, this song does a nice job of breaking that convention. Just a shame it isn't quite as Deftonesy as it should be in terms of the style in the sound. Risk is the one that's confusing me. I think it's largely because Chino's voice sounds a bit too different at first. The music is mostly ok though, chorus is quite S/T which I'm digging. 976-Evil is THE track I think, and funnily enough it's the chorus that I like the most. I think that 976 is to DE, as Battleaxe is to S/T, just a different atmosphere. It has the same thing going on with that guitar phrase that changes the chorus halfway through, that BA did. I have a thing for left-field notes like that. The whole song is more like a huge 'sigh' though, like Minerva, so I'm digging that. This Place Is Death is ok, but it's that dreaded underwhelming closer.

CMD/CTRL, YSTB, 976-Evil, and Royal are easily my favourites. Beauty School, Prince and Sextape get points for being interesting.

Overall I like it a Hell of a lot more than SNW, and I'm definitely buying. Just wish I could buy it tonight. This sounds at least a lot more logically like what would've come out after S/T, so I'm happy. I've heard all this via Youtube, so when they go down I'll just have to wait 'til release I imagine.

I don't think Beauty School has anything to do with the in-studio song. 

[There Will Be Blood]

With Diamond Eyes, I like the verses, but like has been said before, the chorus is just not them, to me. Not a dealbreaker though, and it's the typical single anyway. Royal I think is the actual 'old school' track. This is the one that most embodies the classic sound, more than CMD/CTRL, probably due to the riff. Obviously likeable. I think the reason CMD/CTRL sounds a lot more new school over Royal, is due to the verse vox/rhythm. YSTB is interesting because it has a lot of the Ezrin demo sound to it, one of my favourites. I think the whole rhythm sound is where I was expecting SNW to go after Buffalo, and this track does a great job of realising that a little for me. Reminds me a lot of Ezrin Demo 5. Beauty School is, I'm guessing, what became of that music we heard on the studio blog videos. Nice verse tune, overall just a solid track. Really like the stark outro, trademark move. Prince is interesting, starts with kind of a Lucky You vibe, brooding and experimental. Rocket Skates is a good solid track, really like the melodies. Sextape, c'mon, let's be honest. It's fucking Team Sleep, but at least it's just one track and not a bad surprise anymore like it was on SNW. That said, I do really like that it actually sounds fairly fucking romantic for 'Sextape'. I think a WGTB type 'lusty' track for a song called 'Sextape' would've been clichéd as fuck, this song does a nice job of breaking that convention. Just a shame it isn't quite as Deftonesy as it should be in terms of the style in the sound. Risk is the one that's confusing me. I think it's largely because Chino's voice sounds a bit too different at first. The music is mostly ok though, chorus is quite S/T which I'm digging. 976-Evil is THE track I think, and funnily enough it's the chorus that I like the most. I think that 976 is to DE, as Battleaxe is to S/T, just a different atmosphere. It has the same thing going on with that guitar phrase that changes the chorus halfway through, that BA did. I have a thing for left-field notes like that. The whole song is more like a huge 'sigh' though, like Minerva, so I'm digging that. This Place Is Death is ok, but it's that dreaded underwhelming closer.

CMD/CTRL, YSTB, 976-Evil, and Royal are easily my favourites. Beauty School, Prince and Sextape get points for being interesting.

Overall I like it a Hell of a lot more than SNW, and I'm definitely buying. Just wish I could buy it tonight. This sounds at least a lot more logically like what would've come out after S/T, so I'm happy. I've heard all this via Youtube, so when they go down I'll just have to wait 'til release I imagine.

I don't think Beauty School has anything to do with the in-studio song. 

Listen closer in the intro

[bloody_liver]

What I like about this album is that it feels more fantasy driven.

[deftones86]

With Diamond Eyes, I like the verses, but like has been said before, the chorus is just not them, to me. Not a dealbreaker though, and it's the typical single anyway. Royal I think is the actual 'old school' track. This is the one that most embodies the classic sound, more than CMD/CTRL, probably due to the riff. Obviously likeable. I think the reason CMD/CTRL sounds a lot more new school over Royal, is due to the verse vox/rhythm. YSTB is interesting because it has a lot of the Ezrin demo sound to it, one of my favourites. I think the whole rhythm sound is where I was expecting SNW to go after Buffalo, and this track does a great job of realising that a little for me. Reminds me a lot of Ezrin Demo 5. Beauty School is, I'm guessing, what became of that music we heard on the studio blog videos. Nice verse tune, overall just a solid track. Really like the stark outro, trademark move. Prince is interesting, starts with kind of a Lucky You vibe, brooding and experimental. Rocket Skates is a good solid track, really like the melodies. Sextape, c'mon, let's be honest. It's fucking Team Sleep, but at least it's just one track and not a bad surprise anymore like it was on SNW. That said, I do really like that it actually sounds fairly fucking romantic for 'Sextape'. I think a WGTB type 'lusty' track for a song called 'Sextape' would've been clichéd as fuck, this song does a nice job of breaking that convention. Just a shame it isn't quite as Deftonesy as it should be in terms of the style in the sound. Risk is the one that's confusing me. I think it's largely because Chino's voice sounds a bit too different at first. The music is mostly ok though, chorus is quite S/T which I'm digging. 976-Evil is THE track I think, and funnily enough it's the chorus that I like the most. I think that 976 is to DE, as Battleaxe is to S/T, just a different atmosphere. It has the same thing going on with that guitar phrase that changes the chorus halfway through, that BA did. I have a thing for left-field notes like that. The whole song is more like a huge 'sigh' though, like Minerva, so I'm digging that. This Place Is Death is ok, but it's that dreaded underwhelming closer.

CMD/CTRL, YSTB, 976-Evil, and Royal are easily my favourites. Beauty School, Prince and Sextape get points for being interesting.

Overall I like it a Hell of a lot more than SNW, and I'm definitely buying. Just wish I could buy it tonight. This sounds at least a lot more logically like what would've come out after S/T, so I'm happy. I've heard all this via Youtube, so when they go down I'll just have to wait 'til release I imagine.

I don't think Beauty School has anything to do with the in-studio song. 

Listen closer in the intro

Its definately the same thing just sounds more deftones on DE

[nyquil_addict133]

Well I listened to it again last night after having no reaction to initial listen. Deftones are my life and I will listen to this until Eros, but surprisingly their weakest album post Adrenaline. Sad and disappointing. No Be Quiet and Drive. No WGTB. Hexagram. Hole in the earth, or even Rats. No brilliance.

[Saturday Night Whiskey999]

Definitely the best deftones album since Wite Pony.

[frud]

Beauty school = quite possibly the greatest song ive ever heard. I literally cried when i first heard it. fucking AMAZING.

btw the entire album is just pure perfection.

[simmamadrama4000]

After listening to the album for about 4 times in a row so far...

1. This place is Death - kinda trippy remind me of minerva on ST for some reason
2. Risk (my most played so far next to cmnd-ctrl)
3. cmnd-ctrl
4. Prince
5. Rocket Skates
6. You've Seen The Butcher (Very different compared to the other songs on the album)
7. Diamond Eyes \ Royal - I dont know why everyone thinks these songs are the best on the album. Maybe they haven't grown on me yet. Royal is growing on me though...
8. Beauty School - Sounds very eros like. Should have saved it for that
9. 976-EVIL and Sextape are like the worst ones on the album IMO, i almost dislike Sextape more than Passenger on WP  
(dislike it cause I just cant get into tool and i dont like his vocals/Maynard)

[godin]

sextape and 976 evil are some of the best IMO haha.

Prince is awesome though.

[pony_01]

my list:

1. Rocket Skates
2. CTRL/CMD = ADRENALINE!
3. Sextape
4. Prince
5. Royal
6. Diamond Eyes
7. Beauty School
8. Risk
9. 976-EVIL
10. YSTB
11. This Place is Death