Deftones -

Deftones are a band of contradictions—aggressive but sensual, heavy but ethereal, ugly but beautiful. They created a sound that no one has successfully copied, and they've become the favorite band of people who usually hate metal. That's the "interesting piece."

What specifically drew you to them? A particular song or album? Deftones

Chino is one of rock's most distinctive vocalists. He can shift from a whisper to a desperate, melodic croon to a blood-curdling scream—often within the same line. Lyrically, he's abstract, sensual, and violent, often blending eroticism with destruction. You rarely know exactly what he's singing about, but you feel it. A particular song or album

The 2008 car accident that left bassist Chi Cheng brain-damaged (he died in 2013) nearly broke them. They channeled that grief into Diamond Eyes (2010)—a surprisingly life-affirming, heavy album that reinvented them again. Since then, with Sergio Vega (and now Fred Sablan on bass), they've only deepened their sound, with 2020's Ohms being a late-career high point. It ditched nu-metal entirely for space-rock

This is their masterpiece. It ditched nu-metal entirely for space-rock, trip-hop, and post-rock. Tracks like "Digital Bath," "Knife Prty," and "Change (In the House of Flies)" showed a band creating a nocturnal, cinematic, and deeply weird sound. It’s the album that made critics realize Deftones were something special.

That's a great way to put Deftones: an interesting piece —because they don't fit neatly into any single box.