Deftones GORE | CD

Audio Mixer: Matt Hyde .Recording information: Far From Earth Films, Bend, OR; Megawatt Recording, Studio City, CA.Photographer: Frank Maddocks.As the title Gore suggests, the contents within are bloody and visceral. Yet considering the cover art -- which shows a flamboyance of pretty pink flamingoes flying against a grey-blue sky -- thoughts of pure violence are subverted. This dichotomy has been central to the Deftones ethos since their start. By combining brutality with beauty, the Californian quintet elicits deep vulnerability, all while assaulting the senses. They've hit another career peak with Gore, marked by some new directions and layered atmospherics that explore the different shades between the extremes. Produced by Matt Hyde -- who also worked on 2012's Koi No Yokan -- Gore provides enough moments of pummeling savagery to balance the fragility that the band can often tease. Those varied trademarks are reintroduced on the sprawling first single, "Prayers/Triangles," which va