Deftones - Diamond Eyes (Deluxe Edition) (2010)

Diamond Eyes is the sixth album by the American alternative metal band Deftones, released worldwide on May 4, 2010 by Reprise Records, after their departure from longtime label Maverick. An album tentatively titled Eros was originally intended to be their sixth full-length release and follow-up to Saturday Night Wrist (2006), but was not released due to bassist Chi Cheng entering a coma after a serious car accident that occurred in November 2008, eventually resulting in his death in 2013. The release of Eros was put on hold in favor of Diamond Eyes in June 2009. It is also the first album to feature former Quicksand bassist Sergio Vega, who replaced Cheng.

Diamond Eyes was a critical and commercial success; obtaining a normalized score of 78 on review aggregator Metacritic, while achieving top 20 chartings on the Billboard 200, German Albums Chart and many other European charts. It was the band's highest charting album on the Billboard 200 since their 2003 album Deftones. Diamond Eyes debuted at No. 6, while previous album Saturday Night Wrist debuted at No. 10.

Initial reaction to the album from music critics was highly favorable. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, writing, "Naturally, there is quite a bit of roiling darkness here – they're Cure-loving metalheads, it's in their blood – but there's shade and light, control of texture, with the band deepening rather than expanding." Jason Pettigrew of Alternative Press also awarded the album 4 stars out of 5, saying, "Unlike their alleged 'peers' (do they really have any?), Deftones learned years ago that a whisper can be more terrifying than a scream and power isn't always about BPMs and downstrokes per minute." He also added that Diamond Eyes "belongs in a pantheon of amazing albums born from tragedy". BBC writer Mike Diver was also impressed, and opined that the album "knocks every pretender to the band's throne into the middle of next week". He praised the band for playing to their strengths, and summarized: "Eros is reportedly their excursion into weirdness, while this is a statement of consolidation, a neatly segued set that finds Deftones playing to their well-established strengths."

Writing for Metalholic, Doron Beit-Halahmi said the album was "slated to be a classic in the world of alternative metal, this album is just as good, if not better than 2000’s White Pony".

BLARE Magazine's Joshua Khan also awarded the album 4 of 5 stars, writing in his review, "Tired of the same old restless metal scenes eating up the airwaves? Then grab your $20 iPod headphones and devour the sixth studio release from the California alternative metal quintet. Deftones give birth to a refined sound that makes creations like 'Prince' and '976-Evil' enslaving." The Skinny's Mark Shukla likewise gave a 4-star rating, explaining, "The first four tracks set a blistering pace as churning riffs transition relentlessly into fret-burning breakdowns; all the while Chino Moreno deploying his wounded croon and lacerating howl with an intensity that remains impressively undiminished." Sputnikmusic staff writer Nick Greer gave an unequivocally positive review. He awarded a "classic" 5-out-of-5 score and stated that the album is "better than White Pony". He described the album's sound as "intense and visceral, but introspective and sensitive in ways Deftones have never been before", before finally adding, "I can honestly say it's Deftones' best album to date." Scott Gordon of The A.V. Club stated that while there are moments on the album where Deftones "sound a bit like a band on auto-pilot", many of the other tracks "stomp such limp moments with pleasingly crude riffs that claw and scrape through the verses, then release Chino Moreno's voice into glimmering, menacing choruses."

Slant Magazine described the tracks “Sextape” or “Beauty School” as shoegaze.

Diamond Eyes was named "Rock Album of the Year" by the iTunes Store.

Diamond Eyes was expected to sell between 55,000 and 60,000 records in the U.S. during its first week, based on first-day sales, according to Hits Daily Double. The album sold 62,000 copies in the U.S. and debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard 200, making it the fourth consecutive Deftones album to debut within that chart's top 10.

As of October 2012, the album had sold approximately 236,000 copies in the U.S.

Track List:
01. Diamond Eyes [00:03:08]
02. Royal [00:03:32]
03. CMND/CTRL [00:02:25]
04. You've Seen The Butcher [00:03:31]
05. Beauty School [00:04:47]
06. Prince [00:03:36]
07. Rocket Skates [00:04:17]
08. Sextape [00:04:01]
09. Risk [00:03:38]
10. 976–EVIL [00:04:32]
11. This Place Is Death [00:03:48]
12. Do You Believe [00:03:28]
13. Ghosts [00:04:27]
14. Caress [00:03:33]