As Deftones approach the 30th anniversary of their debut album, they’re more influential than ever. It’s almost impossible to believe they were once considered the “nu metal band you’re allowed to like” because now they’re a band who paved the way for rising new bands across multiple styles of music, from shoegaze to alt-rock to metalcore to various other forms of metal and beyond. It’s not everyday that a veteran rock band gets repositioned in such a drastically different light this far into their career, and it’s even less common for said bands to be tapped in to why new generations are falling in love with them. I won’t name names, but I know we can all think of plenty of examples where that is not the case, so it’s pretty amazing how in touch Deftones are with the current landscape that they helped pave the way for. They’ve taken some of the best newer “Deftonesy” bands on tour with them (like Fleshwater, who opened their incredible MSG show and the rest of their tour earlier this year), and their new music delivers more of the magic that’s made them such an enduring band.
That’s very true of “my mind is a mountain,” the first single and opening track of private music, the first Deftones album in five years (following 2020’s also-great Ohms). It’s an under-three-minute banger that captures everything that’s made Deftones so influential–with a little shoegaze, a little metal, a little alternative rock–and Nick Raskulinecz’s production sounds as modern and cutting edge as anything else in the rock sphere today. And as good as a lot of the new Deftonesy bands are, “my mind is a mountain” reminds you that there’s nothing like the real thing. Chino Moreno’s voice soars with as much spirit as it had on White Pony, and Stephen Carpenter’s guitar work is a seamless mix of brick-heavy alt-metal and shoegazy atmosphere that he still pulls off better than his many imitators. “my mind is a mountain” even stands tall next to Deftones’ own classics, and it sounds even fresher in 2025 than some of those records do. As unbeatable as those older Deftones records are, there are aspects that do sound a little outdated today, and those aspects are totally absent on “my mind is a mountain.” As this song drives home (or bes quiet and drives far away), Deftones are a band who have naturally evolved in tandem with a world that’s finally catching up to them.
private music arrives on August 22 via Reprise/Warner. Pre-order it on clear vinyl, CD, or cassette here and find more album info and upcoming tour dates here.