Continuing our salute to the Deftones this week in the run-up to their new album Private Music (out this Friday), today we’re taking a look at this straight-up vicious performance of “Bloody Cape” live on Last Call with Carson Daly from 2003. This was an interesting time for the band, as there was a lot of pressure on them to deliver a follow-up to their critically acclaimed White Pony album from 2000, a record that sparked a lot of interest in the indie community thanks to its more nuanced variety of aggression and generally more melodic flavor overall. And, not taking anything away from White Pony, but in this writer’s (not particularly humble) opinion, the albums that immediately preceded and followed it were always (slightly) more compelling listening experiences.
1997’s Around the Fur captured the band in their youthful prime and struck the near-perfect balance between their aggro essence and their more melodic dynamics/tendencies. And 2003’s self-titled (which features “Bloody Cape”) really felt like an act of rebellion considering it’s decidedly more abrasive, challenging, and overall, much darker and moodier sound. It was in essence the band’s “fuck you” record, but not so much because it was heavier (which it was), but more so because of the pervasive, subtly psychedelic darkness that gives the album its distinctly brooding and malevolent personality. And speaking of malevolent, is there any better way to describe the closing onslaught to “Bloody Cape”, which kind of sounds like the aural equivalent of a slasher flick? Its blood-boiling intensity is downright sinister, kind of like their self-titled album overall. It’s brilliantly wicked. Turn it up and witness the carnage for yourself:
