In Brief

Despite impressive technical refinements in their furious rock assault, the stylistic experiments on the Deftones’ second effort make more of an impact. A touch of warped western twang creeps into the brooding “Mascara,” and the group’s latent pop penchant surfaces now and again with an acrid, Pixies-esque melodic flair. Rather than dampening the music’s anxietylevel, these mellower twists actually enhance the band’s angst appeal. (The Deftones will play at the Palace on Saturday.)

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Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor) to four stars (excellent).

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Hear the Music

* Excerpts from these albums and other recent releases are available on The Times’ World Wide Web site. Point your browser to: http://pyxis.nohib.com./soundclips