"Plain Boring"

[Jacob]

now he sounds better than ever

Deftones - Hexagram live @ Pershing Auditorium, July 1st 2003 [1/17]

Deftones-Hexagram-LIVE in Denver, CO


Ok, yeah, sure.

what are you getting at? the second video is much worse quality and it's hard to hear Chino. that doesn't mean he sings worse. in the vid from 2003 he constantly sounds exhausted. hear how he cuts screams short? so yeah, he does the squeels a bit better, but that's one of the few videos I've seen him do that. most of the time his squeels sound extremely forced and not very good.

[BillyNo.9]

I saw them a couple of times on the Diamond Eyes tour down here in Europe and she didn't look really friendly.

no but that was because you did this face to her

U mad Chino?

[el perro]

I think some of you are depressed. Especially the person who writes an article about why he finds something boring

[Vesanic]

what are you getting at? the second video is much worse quality and it's hard to hear Chino. that doesn't mean he sings worse. in the vid from 2003 he constantly sounds exhausted. hear how he cuts screams short? so yeah, he does the squeels a bit better, but that's one of the few videos I've seen him do that. most of the time his squeels sound extremely forced and not very good.

Yeah he does cut some screams short, but at least they sound deep? He always sounds exhausted today, he can't make deep screams for shit. I could name you some other examples. Chino's voice was better before the SNW era and that's a fact. Even if he did sound exhausted on lots of performances from 2003, some of them were outstanding, and at least, the passion was there, his screams were monsterous.

He was coked out of his mind on this performance, and it's regarded as the best performance of Digital Bath ever.

Deftones - Digital Bath

Compare it to a performance from today:

Deftones - Digital Bath live @ Lollapalooza Festival, August 6th 2011 [9/14]

See how he cuts the notes short ? And his voice even cracks at some point. See his face when he tries the high notes. The guy's struggling, he doesn't use a proper technique, his voice isn't half as deep as it used to be. He sounded pretty badass in late 2009 though.

[nineteen]

Surely it's just back round to getting Terry Date back in to produce and record?

As far as their live shows.... I personally think they're busting out some great performances (the ones I have seen anyway)

[from_musings]

I think some of you are depressed. Especially the person who writes an article about why he finds something boring

ok, but i think one should be taking in everything in life, both good things and sad things - and everything in between.. if you choose to only look at the good things and close your eyes for the bad things,them good things will lose their value. life's not about to closing your eyes and fool yourself. i think it's refreshing with something smart said that's not all flowers and rainbows. and there's a lot of dick sucking going on in other threads so why not balance it up now and then. it gets more interesting i believe

[Nail]

Preface:  this is not a "troll" topic, or meant to cause flaming.  As a lifelong, rabid Deftones this all comes from the heart, and I hope it inspires honest discussion. 

It pains me to admit this, but over the past couple years, the Deftones have just become plain boring to me.  They seem to have lost their mystique and intrigue.  Their performances have become predictable and contrived.  In the past (esp White Pony, ST, and even SNW days), every performance seemed like it could be their last.  It appeared as though they were constantly teetering on the brink of disaster.  But lately things appear more stable on stage.  Perhaps even choreographed.  The spontaneity is gone in my opinion.  To me, all of the performances from 2009-current are nearly identical in terms of how they appear and sound.  Same songs, same moves, same covers.  Chino makes the same comments to the fans, takes his shirt off (wtf?), and does his signature barricade appearance night-in, night-out.  The same can be said for the interviews, which have grown nearly pointless/unbearable to listen to or read b/c they say the same safe lines over and over, as if it's all scripted (wouldn't be surprised).  And Sergio usually rambles like an idiot.  Even the imagery is gone.  The whole owl thing to me was just plain cheesy, especially when we found the stock photos.  The new "deftones" font is wannabe-graphic-designer-trendy, and the Diamond Eyes booklet didn't even have any custom artwork or photos - just black background and white text.  I know some might think that was a "design decision" but it looks budget to me.  I'll never forget "Bandaged Love" from the ST booklet, and the personal photos from the band - they really grabbed you into the album.  And as painful as SNW is, the art direction and imagery was fantastic.

So maybe I'm getting older, and I'm just less impressed?  Or maybe Deftones have gotten older and they're no longer inspired?  The guys are getting older, families have stabilized, less drugs/drama - all these seem like good things but to me, the stability creates a boring, uninspired artistic environment.  Not trying to get cliche here with what inspires an artist, and what tortured lives they live, but frankly I miss my Deftones who were full of swagger, mystique, unpredictability, intrigue, and style.  Honestly, I saw them over the summer, and it made me cringe - chino, a grown man, jumping around like 16 year old boy.  It just looked silly.  I think they need to age more gracefully.  Chino should be producing albums left and right.  All these bands coming up today grew up on the Deftones.  He could be fabulous mentor and producer, and hopefully make some money off of it.  I think the crosses stuff is a step in the right direction as well.

Anyways, I clearly got off-topic in my own post (embarassing!), but hopefully some of you lifer fans can relate - is the magic gone, perhaps a little bit?

I agree with just about all of this. Still, they are better than a lot of the shit I hear these days. I don't know why, but for some reason I am thinking they will go back to the S/T type of music. If you look at their last four albums (including Eros despite not being released) they seem to alternate. S/T was rather experimental and dark. SNW was all over the place and a little poppier at times I'll admit it's not my favorite so maybe I'm a little biased but I can barely stand most of that album. Eros was described as being longer and more complex. Maybe even similar to S/T. Then DE was tight, concise, predictable etc. I just think they are going to take their time and make a great album. Maybe it's just wishful thinking though.

[DEFinatelydeftones,fsho]

I agree that CHINO has lost a little edge in AGE. But to say Deftones has.... ummm, no. The band is tighter than anyone out there minus Chino being a perfect performer nowadays. I'm a thankful fan in that he's still relevant and making albums and performing regardless if he's a 29 yr old on coke giving it his all or not. Stop totally? No fucking way.... too much talent there and these performances for his style (screaming) are naturally going to bog down over time and that's why they r evolving into something suitable for Chino to perform live. They r designed for live shows and don't b surprised if he sings more than screams even more so than on DE, for this next record! Thi nk abt it, listen to him try and perform most of DE live, its painful. I think he'll learn from that and your next record will b totally different. I think it will showcase the others this time. Just my opinion. Give the guy a little bit of slack or else u r going to b dissappointed. He's going on 40 w 25 + yrs of screechin, repeatedly! God bless them to keep on it and evolve their talent with their late capabilities man. Just don't go strings or "Radiohead" on us...... I will retire my hapiness w them THEN. p.s. even "Buffalo" being all heavy and near perfect has him mostly singing than screaming on the live version (even tho these aren't real lyrics, just sounds or mixed jibberish) but sounds fantastic qnd I'm aware it's from 2004ish. They can do this, obviously

[downtownpony]

I think Tony Hawk lost his magic as well.

[downtownpony]

So did Michael Jordan.

[Northcal]

So did Michael Jordan.

So did Michael Jordan.
[/quote

so did my best friend sister, wait i mean huh

[E-Money]

I think everyones getting a little too into this.  The tones aren't gonna be the same band they were when they were younger.  They have grown up a lot.  There still going to produce records that are way better than your average rock band.  There never going to make boring music.  DE might not be everyones favorite but its not a flop.  And they still kicked ass when I saw them last May.  I've seen my fair share of awful tones shows.  The last one was one of their best i've seen. 

[Northcal]

I think everyones getting a little too into this.  The tones aren't gonna be the same band they were when they were younger.  They have grown up a lot.  There still going to produce records that are way better than your average rock band.  There never going to make boring music.  DE might not be everyones favorite but its not a flop.  And they still kicked ass when I saw them last May.  I've seen my fair share of awful tones shows.  The last one was one of their best i've seen. 

dude u dont get it we have nothing else to do, i m almost out of weed again,what up money 4:20

[Sushi-X]

You could always watch porn instead

[Robotsatemygrandma]

I think I may have briefly mentioned some of the OP's opinion before, but eh who cares about that.

You ever play a shit load of shows in a row? It sucks. It gets tiring. It gets boring. You almost enter a "dialog", same shit, different night. Your body moves the same way it did to the same song the previous night. You want to get in and get the fuck out. And I've never gone on a 3+ month tour. But that's me. I'm not them.

Touring pays their bills.

The merch they sell on the road also pays the bills.

That collectively puts food on the table, a roof over their heads, and clothes on their backs.

Record sales don't do much anymore.

Online merch doesn't really either.

So why call it quits? It's not like there's a musician's pension they can retire on. I don't recall ALL of them being millionaires. There's more behind the scenes of why some bands drag a dead horse around.

I'm not saying they should. The reactions, new fans, and ticket sales they've been getting say the end is far from close... then there's some of the few, that love the band for who they were.

[RoyalDeftonicBoy]

We can some agree we dont even listen to deftones' CDs in a gooooood while.
I agree completely with your post Mr.musteatbrains

[E-Money]

I think everyones getting a little too into this.  The tones aren't gonna be the same band they were when they were younger.  They have grown up a lot.  There still going to produce records that are way better than your average rock band.  There never going to make boring music.  DE might not be everyones favorite but its not a flop.  And they still kicked ass when I saw them last May.  I've seen my fair share of awful tones shows.  The last one was one of their best i've seen. 

dude u dont get it we have nothing else to do, i m almost out of weed again,what up money 4:20

I hear that dude...

[deftoner664]

Damn everyone... They're only human... What do you want them to do to better satisfy your expectations of the band? Just be thankful they still have the drive to keep going... Perhaps, we shouldnt make  such rash judgments untill the next future release.... Alot of shit has changed for them.

[from_musings]

everyone who's opposed to the original post have lost their magic

[TheShade1989]

Eh, does this not happen to all bands after a while? Times change, their life circumstances change, their inspiration shifts, they focus on different things, etc. Plus, yeah they are getting older. If you find them more or less boring now, then that really sucks, because I've actually only been listening to them for a few yrs, but they're still exciting to me, watching the old live performances as well as the new one. His voice was definitely better back then, but it's safe to say he's done a lotta stuff that fucks up his voice to the point where it'll never be as good as it was a decade ago. As for them losing their spontaneity, I agree with that, but I dont know, I look at the live videos, the recent ones, and there's still a lotta energy and excitement. So, I dont think they've lost their magic, but it really depends on what you see as their magic, because to me, they've changed, but it hasnt stopped them frm being one of my favorite bands. And really, let's not forget the ppl behind the music itself. The band members are all humans, so ask yourself if you'd have the same amount of spontaneity and everything after that long making music and just experiencing life in general.