by Daniel Gioffre

Adrenaline is an appropriate title for this, the Deftones' debut album, as all ten tracks explode with repressed energy. Unlike many of their contemporaries, the Deftones are very controlled even in the midst of chaos. The musical attack is precise and well organized without sounding mechanical or soulless. Simply put, this music is the product of a good old-fashioned band, with every element of the music fitting together nicely. One of the practical ways in which this expresses itself is the way that the Deftones groove, a skill that most nu-metal bands have somehow managed to lose along the way. Throw Abe Cunningham's surprisingly sophisticated drumming into the mix, and you have a band that possesses a far greater degree of nuance than most others that work in the genre. If there is a weakness to Adrenaline, it is that there is a bit of sameness in Chino Moreno's whispered vocal melodies, which drags the record down a bit. On later albums, the band's progressive tendencies become more developed, but the more straight-ahead material on Adrenaline does not disappoint. A promising debut.