The Deftones Adrenaline (180 Gr) vinyl is the first time this record has been available on wax, which is a bigger deal than it might sound for a debut album that came out in 1995 and went Gold by the end of the decade. If you care about how a band’s story starts, this is where the Deftones story starts, pressed properly on 180 gram vinyl and released through Maverick (catalog 527707).
Who the Deftones Are and Why Adrenaline Matters
The Deftones formed in Sacramento in 1988, built around vocalist Chino Moreno and guitarist Stephen Carpenter, eventually rounding out with bassist Chi Cheng and keyboardist Frank Delgado. They occupy a space in heavy music that very few bands have managed to hold: genuinely aggressive without sacrificing atmosphere, melodic without going soft, heavy in ways that owe something to Soundgarden and something to artists you would never expect to hear mentioned alongside a band this loud. Adrenaline is the record before all that range fully opened up. It is rawer, more direct, and more anchored in the aggressive end of mid-90s alt-hard rock and nu metal than the albums that followed. Hearing it is hearing a band that already had an identity before they knew how far they could stretch it. The RIAA agreed, certifying it Gold in July 1999.
The Deftones Adrenaline (180 Gr) Vinyl: Format and Pressing Details
This is an LP on the Maverick label, pressed on 180 gram vinyl. For a debut album that spent years unavailable in any vinyl format, the weight and quality of this pressing matters. 180 gram records hold their shape better over time, track more consistently, and generally reward the kind of attention you give a record you actually want to keep. This is not a reissue that was rushed out on thin, noisy vinyl as an afterthought. It is the first proper opportunity to own Adrenaline in the format it deserved from the beginning.
Why a Collector Should Want This Copy
First pressings of debut albums from significant bands have a particular weight to them, and the fact that this one was unavailable on vinyl for so long makes it more interesting rather than less. There is no crowded field of earlier pressings to compete with here. This Maverick pressing, catalog number 527707, is the vinyl edition for this record. If you collect heavy music from the 1990s, if you collect the Deftones catalogue, or if you simply want a Gold-certified debut album on quality 180 gram wax from a band that went on to matter considerably, this is a straightforward acquisition.
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