Deftones is a band that has been around for more than a decade and has created a style of its own. And yet, on every album they still manage to do different things. Some of their songs have turned into classics, but so far every piece of work has been enjoyable in its own way. To me, nothing beats a good Deftones song. 

And thank God, Saturday Night Wrist contains some good and genuine Deftones songs again. For example 'Cherry Waves', which is an uplifting song with a wonderful chorus. It's heavy but still has that mellow feel to it. And like great songs, every Deftones record also contains a 'weird' song. White Pony had 'Teenager', Deftones had 'Lucky You' and now Saturday Night Wrist has 'Pink Cellphone'. The song rests on a r'n'b-ish beat topped off with trippy electronica and is one of the songs that has guest vocals. It ends with a monologue by Annie Hardy (from Giant Drag) about filthy British sex habits, or at least that's what I could make of it. 

Then, after a long intro 'Combat' kicks in with an irresistible drumroll followed by a really energetic big stadium part. This song is definitely one of the album highlights. The other track with guest vocals is 'Mein', on which Serj Tankian from System of a Down does the choruses. Though he has only a minor role, it's really well-balanced and definitely a nice addition to the song.

The production is differing but you will immediately notice that overall it is less smooth than the previous self-titled release. Songs like 'Rats' have much more of a raw rehearsal room sound, with natural sounding drums and cymbals and less effects, which gives you the impression of what Deftones really sounds like as a band. Other songs like 'Beware' and 'Hole In The Earth' still have that characteristic warm Deftones bath-of-sound.

Deftones lyrics will always remain mysteries. The pre-release that Metalrage.com received didn't contain a booklet, and even if it had it probably wouldn't have been of great help as to what the songs mean. There's always great discussions about that on Deftones fansites, and sometimes Chino gives a helpful clue. But as Stef Carpenter put it in an interview
with us earlier this year: "I know nothing of any of our lyrics to any of our songs of any record." 

It's hard to tell if Saturday Night Wrist will become another Deftones classic. My experience is that Deftones albums have to grow on you, you can not draw an instant conclusion. But one thing about this album is for sure: it will remind you of everything that makes Deftones such an outstanding and distinctive band.