Under The Influence #13: Weaponry on “Around The Fur” by Deftones!

Certified Gold in July 1999 and Platinum in 2011, Sacramento California quartet Deftones second album “Around The Fur” was a highly anticipated release. The band had been together since 1988 and so the album effectively marked a decade together and that time shows in the quality of the material. Featuring DJ Frank Delgado on 5 of the tracks and drummer Abe Cunningham’s wife Annalynn on “MX”, the record is dedicated to Dana Wells, the late step son of former Sepultura frontman and guitarist Max Cavalera. His first appearance in the spotlight since his exit from the San Paulo Brazilian Thrashers came on “Headup” before he embarked on the first Soulfly album. Singles “My Own Summer (Shove It)” and “Be Quiet (And Drive)” were among a high quality group and also credited with starting a craze for needless brackets in song titles!

Weaponry vocalist Al Bristow comments: “If you want to start an argument in the Weaponry camp just ask us which Deftones album is the best one. There are shouts for nearly every album, so it could be easy to go with the debut, “Adrenaline”, as it was the vehicle that brought Deftones to the world. Favourites aside though, I think we all agree that the most influential is “Around The Fur”. Deftones found their sound and it’s crafted into every album since no matter how far they try to stray. It’s not your stereotypical metal sound. Slow & epic, scratchy guitars, a snare sound that jumps out at you and makes you listen and these drifting vocals that turn into angry, animalistic noises. The lyrics sound like they’re about something too, not just a bunch of clichés and cool sounding words that go hand in hand with metal – “Around The Fur” doesn’t tell you tall tales, it makes you feel like you are listening to a group of real people. Fur has definitely helped shape our sound and how we approach creating songs. We try to write authentic music and even though we wrap it in metaphors, I still feel people can relate to what we are saying. We try to make it exciting too, not just in the songs but also our live shows. We want to give people a story to tell. Something to remember us by. Our next single “Search For Life” will be out in September and the music was inspired by the secret track from Around The FurDamone”.

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