The last decade was a crazy one for the Deftones. After the commercial breakthrough of 2000’s White Pony, the band nearly broke up during the recording of 2003’s self-titled album and then took three more years to release the uneven Saturday Night Wrist. The band planned a quick follow-up called Eros, but the recording was scrapped after a car accident left bassist Chi Cheng in a coma. Combine that with frontman Chino Moreno’s battles with substance abuse and work on side project Team Sleep, and the band’s future seemed up in the air.

However, the band has regrouped, with ex-Quicksand bassist Sergio Vega taking Cheng’s spot and has released possibly its best album since White Pony. Diamond Eyes shows a leaner, meaner Deftones, and that is not just a dig at Moreno’s weight. The Deftones have taken a more back-to-basics approach with Diamond Eyes, mixing the heavy, screaming jams from Around the Fur and Deftones with the atmospheric murder ballads of White Pony and Saturday Night Wrist.

The title track hints at the direction the band is going in, with its light/heavy dynamic. “Royal,” “Prince” and “CMND/CTRL” would be at home on White Pony. The band seems more focused on this record, with none of the electronic flourishes and trip-hop influences of the previous two albums. The best track is the first single, “Rocket Skates,” with some badass heavy riffing and Moreno’s pig squeals cranked up to 10. It’s an impressive choice for a first single, and the band shows that when it wants to do heavy, it can do it as well as anyone.

Diamond Eyes represents a big comeback for Chino. Not only is he slimmed down and locked in, but he also shows his underrated versatility. He can do that slightly off-key pleading he does on slower tracks like “Beauty School” and “976-EVIL,” but also can unleash a devastating scream like “Guns! Razors! Knives!” on “Rocket Skates.”

Of the slower jams, the best are “Sextape” and the closing “This Place Is Death.” There isn’t a transcendent ballad here, like “Cherry Waves” from Saturday Night Wrist or “Pink Maggit” on White Pony, but all of them are consistently good.

Consistency is what makes Diamond Eyes one of the Deftones’ better albums. It doesn’t have the punishing heaviness of Around the Fur or the surprising experimentation of White Pony, but from start to finish, the album shows why the Deftones have ascended higher than their late '90s “nu-metal” peers. This band is the real thing, and after some bumps in the road, Diamond Eyes reestablishes the Deftones as a force to be reckoned with.