DEFTONES.

Deftones allows weight and space to coexist. A heavy guitar holds the ground while Chino Moreno's voice can float above it. The tension arises in the transition: an almost dreamy passage can suddenly break open, without losing its melody.

Start with Around The Fur and White Pony. Listen to the interplay between rhythm and vocals, and to how a different timbre can change the atmosphere of an entire song.

A LP by Deftones can come in heavy and yet keep a great softness beneath the surface. The guitars sometimes form an almost solid wall, but the vocals draw lines of melody and breath through it. Drums and bass make the sound physical; the space and effects simultaneously give it an airy quality.

Listen to the transitions between pressure and openness. A quiet moment gains extra tension because you know how hard the band can come back later. The order of an album makes that difference part of a single whole. On vinyl, a side of the record is given the time to change texture. The best-known song is then a single moment within a larger movement.

Diamond Eyes, Koi No Yokan, and Ohms provide different inputs. Private Music lets you follow that development further.

Via nu metal, you arrive at the rhythmic heaviness of the early years. The route through alternative rock offers more room for the melodic, atmospheric, and idiosyncratic sides of the band.

Place Korn and Tool next to them. The first route places a different emphasis on groove and physical tension; the second invites you to follow longer structures and shifting patterns.

Read more in the Deftones Artist Story. Then return to a full album: between the hard outbursts, you hear how carefully silence, vocals, and texture also carry the music.

Discover the releases of Deftones at SJELF: B-Sides & Rarities and Deftones. View the available vinyl edition per record.