Thursday, November 15, 2012

Nu-metal appreciation week 3 - The Deadlights, downset. and Deftones (again)

...and another...

...week's almost through, so if yer hatin' this, no worries.

What sparked this mega-post was the release of the new Deftones album 'Koi No Yokan' which I covered in the first post. So, it only makes sense to post the very first 'tones release, their demo '(Like) Linus.' I can't really recommend this to a non-Deftones fan...and even somebody who likes them might not get into it. I'm kind of indifferent. There are a few cool songs here that don't appear on any studio album, but MOST of the unreleased tracks just blow. The band wasn't sure if they wanted to take the more hard-rock approach that ended up on 'Adrenaline' or do a more laid-back, 311/Incubus-stye thing. I'm really REALLY glad they chose the former, although I guess they would've still been pioneers either way. Mostly, this is just a cool snapshot of a band in their very early years...plus it's super rare, so there's that.

Deftones - '(Like) Linus' Demo
Tracklist:

1. Like Linus
2. Hump
3. Answers
4. Some People
5. Christmas
6. Plastic
7. Venison
8. Gift (aka Guest)
9. Freaks
10. Engine No. 9
11. Roots
12. 7 Words
13. Teething

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Also being featured in this post is the sophomore album by downset. This band always struck me as a working man's Rage Against the Machine. They didn't have the smarts of Zach or Tom Morello, or the musical chops to write crazy riffs 'n shit, but they made solid rap-metal. Above-average lyrics, and well-written songs. Never heard the debut, but I think it was more rap-oriented, which is strange because they took a much more hardcore-punk direction later on...think they did some stuff on Epitaph after they got dropped by their major in the great rap-metal purge of 2001.

downset. - 'Do We Speak a Dead Language?'
Tracklist:

1. Intro
2. Empower
3. Eyes Shut Tight
4. Keep On Breathing
5. Hurl a Stone
6. Fire
7. Touch
8. Against the Spirits
9. Sickness
10. Pocket Full of Fatcaps
11. Sangre De Mis Manos
12. Horrifying
13. Sickness (Reprise)
14. Permanent Days Unmoving
15. Ashes in Hand

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Lastly, here's a group called The Deadlights who only released this one album. Just another act to completely disappear once people stopped caring about nu-metal, but one I actually felt pretty bad about, even at the time. If shit like this reached a wider audience, maybe nu-metal would've never disappeared (what a scary thought.) These guys tweaked the formula just enough to do their own thing. Kinda like Tool, but not as experimental, and with a vocalist who is less love him/hate him. I always thought this singer did the whispered verse/shouted chorus wayyyyy better than anyone else. Creepy, too. This self-titled disc is one of the strongest of the nu-metal era.

The Deadlights - S/T
Tracklist:

1. Bitter
2. Amplifier
3. Nothing
4. Sweet Oblivion
5. Junk
6. Sado
7. Foolish Pride
8. Whores
9. Pox Eclipse
10. Distant Sun
11. Time
12. Falling Down

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