“It’s something I say in one of the songs – ‘The separation starts here’”: How ‘the Radiohead of metal’ broke free from nu metal to blaze their own unique trail

Deftones have long been dubbed the ‘Metal Radiohead’, thanks in a large part to their 2000 album White Pony - a record that expanded the boundaries of metal at the turn of the millennium in the same way as the British band’s own third album, OK Computer, had three years earlier.

If White Pony really was Chino Moreno and co’s OK Computer, then it stands to reason that its predecessor, 1997’s Around The Fur was their The Bends. It may not have torn up the rulebook in the way as its successor, but it set them on the path which they follow to this day.

Deftones had emerged from the same febrile early 90s musical melting pot that had spawned Korn. It was an exciting time, when genre conventions were being dismantled and everything from hip hop to electronic music was being folded into the mix. The phrase ‘nu metal’ had yet to be coined, but Deftones were undoubtedly one of its progenitors.

They had released their debut album Adrenaline on Madonna’s Maverick label in 1995, and almost immediately became one of the coolest names for metal fans to drop into conversation.

Adrenaline showcasing vocalist Chino Moreno’s unique croon-to-scream vocals, some fantastic use of dynamics, and a set of influences refreshingly pulled from goth, indie, hip-hop and groove metal. They didn’t look like a metal band, they didn’t talk like one, but they were undeniably heavy and singular in sound.

By 1997 the emergence of debut albums from Coal Chamber, Limp Bizkit and (Hed)PE meant that the boundary-free musical style was becoming codified, displaying tropes, rules, and a signature sound. Nu-metal may barely have entered its adolescence, but Deftones could already see the walls closing in.

One album in, having never wanted to be part of the scene in the first place, they decided to make their escape from nu-metal. This was the mindset that drove them to creating Around the Fur.

In mid-1997 Metal Hammer visited Studio Litho in Seattle where the band were working on their second album with producer Terry Date, finding them in confrontational mood.

“It’s something I say in one of the songs, ‘The separation starts here',” said Chino Moreno, referring to what would become Dai the Flu. “We separate ourselves from bullshit, from stupid ass fucking bands. Our last record, people love it, but I just think it’s okay.”

To help change their sound further Deftones embraced the most ethereal and cerebral elements of their influences, with Moreno pointing to bands like Depeche Mode as an inspiration rather than any metal artist.

To assist this, the band made a key decision that helped to really shape their future by bringing in Frank Delgado on keys and turntables.

DJs in metal bands weren’t new, but Delgado, who would join as a full-time member in 1999, proved that he was more than just another bloke occasionally scratching over chuggy, seven-string riffs. His contribution was subtle, but essential, adding depth, space and layers to the songs the band were writing.

“I think there’s more emotion on this one,” guitarist Stephen Carpenter told Hammer. “To me, the music sounds more passionate.”

Opening with what would become the album’s big single, My Own Summer (Shove It), Around The Fur is a rollercoaster of riff-driven savagery, pained screams, beautifully melodic passages and the odd threat of existential dread.

The album’s biggest moments are also its best known: the build and burst screamalong of My Own Summer, the driving, plaintive croons of Be Quiet And Drive, the furious Headup, the latter featuring a cathartic guest appearance from ex-Sepultura frontman Max Cavalera, who had acrimoniously split from his former band the previous year.

Deftones - My Own Summer (Official Music Video) [HD Remaster] - YouTube

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But there many other brilliant moments. The weird and angular Dai The Flu and builds into an inescapable crescendo, the title tracks reimagines of Helmet’s In The Meantime as a strutting rap-rock rager, and Lotion features what could be the best riff of Deftones' career, alongside one of Moreno’s most intense vocal performances. Elsewhere, the quietly unsettling pre-post-metal creep of Mascara showed they could do heavy in a myriad of ways.

Around the Fur was released on October 28, 1997, entering the US Billboard 200 at number 29 and the UK album chart at number 56. A The record has since been certified Platinum in the US (for one million sales) and Gold (100,000 sales) in the UK.

In the aftermath of the album's release. Deftones did everything in their power to remove themselves from the spectre of nu-metal, turning down Korn‘s Family Values tour to head out on their own. The shows were exceptional, and, as their profile grew, Deftones became known as 'the metal band it's okay for non-metal fans to like'.

When they disappeared again to record the follow up to Around The Fur in 1999, both their popularity and that of nu-metal, was at an all-time high. Subsequently, 2000’s landmark White Pony removed all traces of the genre from their sound.

The latter album is rightly regarded a true classic, and the high watermark of Deftones' career, but Around the Fur can offer a pretty convincing case for being the best Deftones album, particularly if you were there to experience it nearly 30 years ago.