In late 2008, bassist Chi Cheng fell into a coma after a car crash. The band shelved an almost-finished album (Eros) and started over with a newcomer, Sergio Vega. From that suspended grief was born, against all odds, the most luminous Deftones record: Diamond Eyes (2010).
As if pain had been turned into energy, the album radiates. The title track and « Rocket Skates » hit with a ferocious joy; « Sextape » invents a devastating cosmic ballad; « Beauty School » and « 976-EVIL » confirm a regenerated band, tighter, more direct. The huge, crystalline production makes every riff ring like an obvious truth.
It is the record of reconstruction, the one where Deftones prove they can rise from their ashes without losing any of their identity. Less strange than White Pony, more immediate, it opens the most solid late trilogy of their career.
Verdict: 8.5. A blazing, vital, generous return. Proof that a band can turn the worst into beauty.
