The Deftones have always stood for boundless creativity in the music world. With their nine studio albums, they have created an unmistakable sonic identity - wild and yet dreamlike, with room for constant refinements and surprises. Now, decades after the groovy sound of their groundbreaking debut »Adrenaline« and after a long string of masterpieces such as »White Pony« (2000), »Diamond Eyes« (2010) and »OHMS« (2020) - an album that earned them their second and third Grammy nominations - they return with one of the most focused statements of their career: »private music«. The band's creative core, consisting of Chino Moreno, Stephen Carpenter, Abe Cunningham and Frank Delgado (as well as touring bassist Fred Sablan, who can be heard on the album), is joined by producer Nick Raskulinecz, who previously worked on »Diamond Eyes« and 2012's captivating »Koi No Yokan«. The result is a sleek, masterfully timed 11-song set that sounds like a new Deftones benchmark. »private music« meditates on the beauty and danger of nature, the challenge of cultivating a positive attitude and visions of a journey beyond the physical world. It's both a psychedelic journey and a skull-knocker, the latest highlight in a catalogue of haunting, emotional triumphs.