Around the Fur

Deftones' 'Around the Fur' cemented the band's status by advancing their sound with more sophisticated production and a greater emphasis on loud-soft dynamics. The album is defined by the contrast between Stephen Carpenter's aggressive guitar riffs, the rhythm section's tight grooves, and Chino Moreno's vocals shifting from breathy whispers to intense screams, with lyrics exploring themes of angst, sexuality, and violence. By introducing nascent elements of shoegaze and new wave into their alternative metal framework, the record produced key singles like "My Own Summer (Shove It)" and established the atmospheric and heavy duality that would characterize their influential career.