Deftones Celluloid
To celebrate the launch of HUCK#021, we have compiled a collection of our favourite Deftones videos.
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7 Words
This was the first single taken from Deftones' debut album, Adrenaline, in 1995. Chino Moreno has previously stated that the song refers to the police command 'You have the right to remain silent', which consists of seven words. Very clever! It is apparently a commentary on racism and police profiling. This may not be the most adventurous concept for a music video as there is essentially no narrative, just a combination of live footage and images of the band loitering on an industrial estate. However, it does convey the energy of their live performances quite well. Plus, check out Chino’s dreads!
My Own Summer (Shove it)
The third Deftones music video and debut single from Around the Fur was the first video to gain the group mainstream exposure, reaching number 29 on the UK Singles Chart. Dean Karr directed the simple-yet-effective performance montage that consisted of the band playing on metal cages in the ocean as a shark prowls below. Chino falling into the water at the end is just the icing on the cake.
Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)
The second single from Around the Fur was the first song to break the band in the U.S., reaching number 29 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The Frank W. Ockenfels III directed video features the band performing underneath a motorway bridge and getting soaked with water. This song demonstrated the band's ability to combine hard rock guitar riffs with tender vocals and placed Deftones at the forefront of the rapidly emerging alternative metal scene in the late 1990's.
Change (in the House of Flies)
Change was the first single from third album, White Pony, which earned the quintet a Grammy for Best Metal Performance. It remains their most commercially successful single to date, reaching number three in the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. The dark and brooding video, directed by Liz Friedlander, shows the aftermath of a hedonistic house party where all of the guests look as if they are in the early stages of a painful come down. This is also the first video where Chino can be seen playing guitar for the group.
Back to School (Mini Maggit)
When Back to School was was released there was a lot of controversy, as it was not on the original version that appeared on White Pony. Chino openly voiced his anger at the record label for re-releasing the album containing this version as it didn’t seem to compliment the other songs on the album. The record label had also changed the song title, which was originally entitled Pink Maggitand stated that the song was merely a regrettable attempt to prove to Maverick Records that he could write a hit single. The video follows Chino as he cruises around school on his skateboard and hijacks the audio equipment to perform for the students. If only school was actually this interesting.
Read our exclusive interview with Deftones in HUCK#021, out now.
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Deftones Celluloid (text) by David McNamara is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
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