Adrenaline is the debut studio album by Deftones, released on October 3, 1995, by Maverick Records. The majority of the album was produced by Terry Date, while a hidden track titled “Fist” was produced by Ross Robinson.
Stephen Carpenter, Abe Cunningham and Chino Moreno were high school friends. All three went to Sacramento’s C. K. McClatchy High School together, and participated in the city’s skateboarding scene.
Carpenter was a fan of heavy metal; Moreno was interested in hardcore punk bands such as Bad Brains as well as post-punk and new wave bands such as Depeche Mode and the Cure. When Moreno learned that Carpenter was a guitarist, he set up a jam session with Cunningham, who played drums.
The trio began playing regularly in Carpenter‘s garage around 1988. They recruited bassist Dominic Garcia some time after, and the band became a four-piece. When Cunningham left Deftones to join Phallucy, another band from Sacramento, Garcia switched instruments and became the band’s drummer.
Chi Cheng filled the void as bassist, and the band recorded a four-track demo soon afterwards. Cunningham then returned to the band on drums, replacing Garcia.
Regarding the recording, Cunningham said:
“At the time we did the first record – which I really like and think is good – you can tell the band was really young. We’d been playing most of those songs for quite a while, and we were just so happy to be making a record that we didn’t really think a whole lot about making the songs better”.
Moreno felt that Adrenaline was recorded “really fast”, and he performed all his vocals live with the band in the room using a hand-held Shure SM58 microphone.
Although not specifically credited in the album’s liner notes, it was stated that Frank Delgado contributed to the songs Minus Blindfold and Fireal. He was later credited on Deftones‘ subsequent album Around the Fur as a guest, followed by becoming an official member in 1999.
7 Words was released as the first promotional single from the album on December 17, 1995. It was followed by Bored, issued as the second promotional single on April 4, 1996. Music videos were released for 7 Words and Bored. The song Engine No. 9 was also featured in the film Law Abiding Citizen.
Tracklist:
- Bored
- Minus Blindfold
- One Weak
- Nosebleed
- Lifter
- Root
- 7 Words
- Birthmark
- Engine No. 9
- Fireal
- Fist (hidden track)
Deftones
Chino Moreno: lead vocals
Stephen Carpenter: guitar
Chi Cheng: bass, backing vocals
Abe Cunningham: drums
Technical
Deftones: producer (all songs except “Fist”)
Terry Date: producer (all songs except “Fist”), engineer, mixing
Ross Robinson: producer (“Fist”)
Ulrich Wild: engineer
Tom Smurdy: 2nd assistant
Ted Jensen: mastering
Chi Ling Dai Cheng (July 15, 1970 – April 13, 2013).
