After taking the quieter, more somber material and pushing it ad nauseam on their self-titled 2003 album, the Deftones endured tension and band troubles that would end most bands. But after counseling and conversation, the cerebral nu-metal Sacramento band has somewhat improved with “Saturday Night Wrist”. They still lack the rage and intensity of their first three albums.

The album starts off with the lush and epic sounding “Hole In The Earth”, which chronicles the band at their dysfunctional worst. The song must be listened to a few times before it starts to grow on the listener. The album’s most furious moments are fairly spread out, with “Rapture” and “Rats!Rats!Rats!”; the latter track sounds like a trip back to their past and is probably the best song on the record. There are flashes of the improvement on the last record in songs such as “Mein” and “Combat”, which effectively blend the band’s soothing and charging sound at the same time.

But if you are expecting the best moments (soft and heavy) of the “Around The Fur” and “White Pony” sessions to be on full display, guess again. The album takes a far more ambient and electronic take on the band’s sound than before. There is a heavy Team Sleep (lead singer Chino Moreno’s side project) influence on tracks like “Xerxes”, and “Pink Cellphone”. Tracks such as the instrumental “U,U,D,D,L,R,L,R,A,B,Select,Start” (an obvious reference to the Nintendo classic “Contra”) and “Cherry Waves” sound like eerie dark material best suited for a scary movie.

“Saturday Night Wrist” was producer by former Pink Floyd producer Bob Ezrin, and the Floyd influences are also evident on the new record. The majestic guitar sound and occasional soaring vocals are tell tale signs of that, but the raging passion of the band’s earlier work is noticeably gone.

The band has lost some fans with their new sound, but “Saturday Night Wrist” is more thought out and not as somber as their last record. It still doesn’t provide me with the rush that fueled the band's rise to stardom in the late 90’s.

GRADE: B-

Email me. ArtHatesYou@detroitbuzz.com