Adrenaline
Call it what you want: emo-core, alternative, sneaker metal...the Deftones seemed the most unlikely quartet to come out on Madonna's Maverick Records. The music is agro, abrasive, and damn near primal from the disc's first few seconds. Tool-like whisperings of frontman Chino Moreno can bring the mood from disconcerting to downright dangerous in seconds. Heavy, chunky guitar riffs, mad raps, and testy tempo changes make this a must-have for fans of whisper-to-a-primal-scream alterna-rock. Killer tracks: "Bored" and "7 Words."--Denise Sheppard