"Mein" (
German for either "
mine" or "
my") is the second
single from the American
alternative metal band
Deftones' fifth album, Saturday Night Wrist, and their 11th single overall. The song featured
Serj Tankian of
System of a Down on vocals. The single was released on March 13, 2007. It is also the band's last single recorded with their bassist
Chi Cheng before his serious automobile crash in the following year and before his death in 2013.
Background
In a later interview on
Reddit, Tankian was asked how the collaboration had come about, replying: "Chino asked and I obliged :) We´ve all been friends and toured together for many years" [2]
Reception
Calling the song an "
industrial banger with swooshy
space-rock overlays," Rolling Stone writer Christian Hoard favorably compared
Chino Moreno's vocal style to that of
Thom Yorke.[3] Conversely, NME panned "Mein," writing: "This song reminds us of when we used to have
MTV2 and had to switch to
VH1 Classic every time Back To School came on, or we’d get a headache. Boooooring."[4]
"Mein" garnered little radio play and subsequently failed to chart significantly on American rock charts, peaking at number 40 on the US
Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.[5]
Music video
During the week of January 20, 2007, the band filmed a music video for "Mein", which was subsequently leaked to
YouTube on March 2. Directed by Bernard Gourley, the video depicted
hip hop influences and
breakdancers, while the band performed on top of a parking structure with the Los Angeles skyline in the background.[6]
