Deftones’ ‘Private Music’ Lauded as Late-Career Masterpiece, Showcases Evolution and Emotional Depth

Deftones will release Private Music, their tenth studio album, via Warner Records on August 22.

This marks three decades since their first album, Adrenaline, hit stores. Producer Nick Raskulinecz worked with the band between studios in California and Nashville. He's no stranger to their sound, having produced their albums Diamond Eyes and Koi No Yokan.

The band now includes guitarist Stephen Carpenter, drummer Abe Cunningham, keyboardist Frank Delgado, and Fred Sablan on bass. Sablan took over after Sergio Vega's exit in 2021. 

Their first single is called "my mind is a mountain" and mixes raw power with soft atmospherics. The next single is "Milk of the Madonna".

"Souvenir," another standout song, stretches to six minutes, showing the band's growth. "With its thundering drums and rolling momentum, it feels cut from the same cloth as Koi No Yokan's 'Tempest,'" Paul Weedon writes in his review for Clash Music. 

The band sold out Madison Square Garden last April and owned the stage at Crystal Palace this year. Private Music breaks a five-year silence since 2020's Ohms. Warner Records has opened pre-orders on the band's official website.