‘Diamond Eyes’ is an album with a story behind it. I mean real story, you know? Every stories are often sad. This one started in the beginning of 2009 after Deftones wrote, recorded (with Terry Date) and completely abandoned a project entitled as ‘Eros’. It’s not clear whether we will be able to hear that album in the future. Most probably it will gain some mystic aura among fans as those ‘lost’ albums usually do and will be released at some point, but these are only theories. Also it’s not clear what was the reason behind the decision of Chino, Frank, Abe and Stephen took to go for a completely new recording. It might be the fact that the bass player Chi Cheng is still in coma after a terrible car crash in 2008 and his substitute Sergio Vera is becoming more and more important factor in songwriting. With a new producer and a new artistic direction, ‘Diamond Eyes’ should have been positive and optimistic, at least according to the band. I could not define the word ‘optimism’ in Deftones context. It could be something very close to melancholy- a definition that fits best the new CD. Of course, the lyrics don’t moan and complain but they visualize emotions that stay very far from a positive point of view. So what can you expect from these 40 minutes of Deftones then? Great music fro the grown-up children of the 90’s- sometimes groovy, but also delirious, multilayered, reclusive and unparalleled to any of nowadays’ fashion patterns. The opening self titled song is probably the strongest thing this band have had written for years. It’s only 3 minutes and you immediately fall in love with the feeling it carries. It’s not catchy in the average way, but it opens the gates for the depth of tracks like ‘Beauty School’, ‘Sextape’ and ‘976 Evil’. On the other hand there are aggressive songs like ‘Royal’ and ‘Rocket Skates’. The interesting thing here is the intersection of melancholy and direct approach, which creates an atmosphere very similar to ‘White Pony’. Chino says that ‘Diamond Eyes’ is the most extrovert album of Deftones and cites The Cure among the main influences for the lyrics. According to us, the band has executed one of the best albums in their career so far. The rest of it depends on history. If this is not enough for you to have your own impression in advance, them we advise you to take a listen. In the end of the day it’s the best way to decide for yourself.