Martedì 8 Mag 2007, 6:04

In January I started a new idea. Every month I add the weekly charts up and get a final score. A week belongs to a month when at least 4 days are in that month. The artist that ends up the highest and has not been AotM yet will be that month's AotM. I'll write an entry about that very artist, obviously.

In April, with 81 plays, the winner is only 4 plays ahead of runner-up and AotM March '07, Maxïmo Park. After their concert in Tilburg late in March, I couldn't help but search them in my playlist for about a month long.
This month's artist of the month: Deftones!

http://download-v5.streamload.com/artzi/Hosted/deftones.jpg
Chino Moreno and the rest

Deftones is a Sacramento, California based band, which has been formed in 1988, almost 20 years ago. They are one of the very few artists in the genre who survived the nu metal hype (Limp Bizkit anyone?) of the late 90's.

That's not a coincidence if you ask me. As opposed to many other bands who got labelled nu metal, Deftones was not just about being angry at the world and trying to be a tough rapper. Deftones delivered an excellent album, White Pony, while other albums got over-produced and rushed. White Pony clearly stood out and is still Deftones' masterpiece.

So at their gig in Tilburg last month I got really impressed. Especially cause their live reputation in the Netherlands was as low as it gets, I didn't expect much, but they proved me wrong in a big way. So I got this urgent need to play Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away) a lot, for example. Also other early songs (pre White Pony) got a lot of air time over here. The pure intensity of most of these songs is what attracts me. My Own Summer (Shove It), Lotion and Root are other good examples.

After releasing a disappointing nameless album a few years ago (making a follow up album on White Pony was a tough job), they surprised me with their latest release Saturday Night Wrist. It has several good songs, and although the raw energy is hard to find (except for Rats!Rats!Rats!), Deftones have added some more melody and creativity to their songs. Mein and Kimdracula are pearls.

So, to end this journal entry, Deftones won the monthly honour this time. With White Pony being one of the best albums I've ever heard, they definitely deserve to be here. Hail!

Previous Artists of the Month:

Jan '07 - The Fratellis
Feb '07 - Cold War Kids
Mar '07 - Maxïmo Park
Apr '07 - Deftones