Minerva (song)

"Minerva"
Single by Deftones
from the album Deftones
B-side	"Sinatra" "Sleep Walk"
Released	April 22, 2003 (2003-04-22)[1]
Genre	Alternative metal shoegaze
Length	4:17
Label	Maverick
Songwriter(s)	Stephen Carpenter Chi Cheng Abe Cunningham Chino Moreno Frank Delgado
Producer(s)	Terry Date
Deftones singles chronology
"Digital Bath" (2001) "Minerva" (2003) "Hexagram" (2003)

"Minerva" is a song by American alternative metal band Deftones. It was released in 2003 as the lead single from their self-titled fourth studio album. The song charted at No. 9 on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart, No. 16 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart^[2][3] and No. 15 on the UK Singles Chart.^[4]

Musical style

Despite the album as a whole containing some of the band's heaviest work to date, "Minerva" itself has an uplifting alternative metal sound and has also been described as shoegaze.^[5][6][7]

Music video

The music video for "Minerva," directed by Paul Fedor,^[8] is notable for its similarity to Pink Floyd's Live at Pompeii concert film.^[9] The band is featured playing the song in a desert-like landscape backed by various amplifiers and other stage equipment. It was filmed near the Salton Sea in southern California in 2003, during a sandstorm. The filming process itself was fraught with problems, as the sand caused problems with the recording equipment and lighting setup. The shoot eventually took 22 hours to complete, with Abe Cunningham saying that "[the shoot] sucked" and Chi Cheng calling it "terrible", but conceding that "it [is] a trippy video. I actually like it a lot".^[10]

Reception

In 2016, Consequence of Sound placed "Minerva" at No. 12 in its article "The Top 20 Deftones Songs", with Jon Hadusek claiming that "[in] a way, Deftones brought shoegaze to the alternative metal mainstream with 'Minerva', a crushingly heavy, textured jam indebted to Siamese Dream-era Smashing Pumpkins and Hum [...]".^[5]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Minerva"	Deftones	4:17
2.	"Sinatra" (Helmet cover)	Page Hamilton	4:34
3.	"Sleep Walk" (Santo & Johnny cover)	Santo Farina, Johnny Farina, Ann Farina	2:30

Appearances in other media

"Minerva" appeared on the soundtracks for True Crime: Streets of LA and NHL 2004. It was also featured on the soundtrack for the 2005 remake House of Wax.^[11]

Charts

Chart (2003)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[12]	50
Scotland (OCC)[13]	16
UK Singles (OCC)[14]	15
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[15]	9
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[16]	16
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[17]	20

References

1. "FMQB Airplay Archive: Modern Rock". Friday Morning Quarterback Album Report, Incorporated. Archived from the original on March 22, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
2. "Deftones". Billboard. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
3. "Deftones". Billboard. Retrieved May 22, 2014.
4. "UK Singles Top 75 - Music Charts". Navigate to appropriate week. acharts.us. Retrieved December 23, 2007.
5. "The Top 20 Deftones Songs". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
6. Unterberger, Andrew (April 4, 2016). "The SPIN Interview: Deftones". Spin. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
7. Gormely, Ian. "Deftones: Beauty and Brutality". Exclaim!. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
8. B-Sides & Rarities liner notes.
9. "Deftones: Minerva (Video 2003) - IMDb". IMDb.
10. "DEFTONES: The Stories Behind The Videos". Blabbermouth.net. October 4, 2005. Archived from the original on April 16, 2008. Retrieved February 25, 2008.
11. "SoundtrackINFO: House of Wax Soundtrack (Complete album tracklisting)".
12. "Deftones – Minerva". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
13. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
14. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
15. "Deftones Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
16. "Deftones Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
17. "Deftones Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved December 14, 2020.