Raise your hand if you think the Deftones are one of the most frustrating bands making music these days.

You can’t see it, but I’m raising my hand.

Seriously though. Let’s take a brief look back at the Deftones repertoire. They started things off with 1995’s Adrenaline — a near perfect blend of skater punk meets metal that only

hinted at the possibilities of Chino Moreno’s ridiculous vocal ability. The fact that Adrenaline didn’t even come close to their later recordings was of no concern, because the album flowed effortlessly and was brilliant in its own way. The reponse to Adrenaline was 1997’s uncontended masterpiece Around the Fur — an incredibly beautiful (erotic, even), antagonistic fuck you to love and life in general. With the intoxicating moments of “My Own Summer (Shove It)”, “Mascara”, “Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)”, “Lotion”, “Dai the Flu”, “MX” and “Damone”, Chino & co. rocketed themselves above the rest of the nu-metal crowd and displayed a sexual, melodic side that perfectly countered their angst.

Then came White Pony — an epic overture that exhibited their newfound willingness to experiment. Though White Pony was undoubtedly a success, it hinted at the Deftones’ downfall. In short, it was slightly inconsistent and obediently forced. Tracks such as “Digital Bath”, “Knife Party”, “Change (In the House of the Flies)” and “The Boy’s Republic” displayed their obvious talent, but those moments were (almost) nullified by the less than stellar “Elite”, “Street Carp”, and “Korea”, all of which seemed out of place and forced. Where Adrenaline and Around the Fur effortlessly flowed from start to finish, White Pony was somewhat awkward when listened to as a whole — as if balancing genius with mediocrity. Still, the band’s willingness to experiment (in addition to the album’s stunning breakout tracks) resulted in success.

Which led to 2003’s self-titled album, which was a rather obvious attempt at recreating Around the Fur. This album showcases a band even more at odds with itself — with boring, generic screaming on one side (“Hexagram”, “When Girls Telephone Boys”), and slices of genius on the other (“Minerva”, “Battle Axe” and “Bloody Cape”). Simply listening to the record was a schizophrenic experience. Where it was once commonplace for Moreno to mix his deathly screams with beautiful, moaning melodies, it now seemed as if the band thought it was easier to just split the tracks equally (screaming song, melodic song, screaming song, melodic song).

The same attitude is prevalent on 2006’s Saturday Night Wrist. “Rapture”, and “Rats, Rats, Rats!” continue the unlikable nu-metal panache, while “U,U,D,D,L,R,L,R,A,B,SELCT,START” and “Pink Cellphone” act as (very boring) artsy Team Sleep-eque segues. “Cherry Waves”, “Mein” and “Tilde” provide slight glimpses of past success but don’t end up delivering. And then there’s “Combat” and “Kimdracula” — both of which bring to mind vintage Deftones. In other words, the same effortlessly heaven-scented music the band is so famous for. While the rest of the album feels incredibly forced and smothered in mediocrity, these two tracks stand out as a brilliant fusion of Adrenaline style skate-punk and Around the Fur’s breathtaking melodies — all while sounding original and new.

It’s this promise that makes Deftones so frustrating. Knowing that they are capable of making such incredible records yet seeing them continue to fall back on this filler material (boring nu-metal screaming and strange, electronic segues) when they are able to make music so much better is maddening to say the least.