Songfacts®:

• Deftones' "Departing the Body" shows how oddly similar near death experiences (NDEs) and birth seem to be, so much so that the song can be about either or both (or, frustratingly, neither).
  
  Racing through the light
  Today, we're gonna taste beyond
  Enchanted by what lies
  What awaits our future
  
  Near death experiencers relate departing their bodies and entering a light ("a dome light is all that remains"). Given that this song's title is "Departing the Body," many fans assumed it was therefore referring to NDEs. However, other fans posted the idea that the song is discussing a fetus emerging into the world for the first time. This puts a new spin on the title, interpreting it as a baby leaving the mother's body at birth.
  
  Thing is, there are other lyrics that align with neither of those interpretations, as there's a bunch of talk about things like "our low-res bodies sway, we watch these grains dissolve" and a room hanging in space "in clear, cold." It could even be heard as a song in favor of transhumanism (merging humanity with machines).
  
  What can be said with certainty is that "Departing the Body" is about transformation, change, and transition, which are the themes of Private Music as a whole.
• Is that Chino Moreno singing? Fans weren't initially sure because the vocals sound so different from usual Deftones. Rumors swirled that Deftones brought in a guest vocalist. Turns out it is Moreno, just using his voice in a way very novel for him.
• The melody from the preceding "Metal Dream" track slips into the start of "Departing the Body" so that the two songs flow together. This seamlessness was once common on pre-digital albums, but it's faded out in modern times as people consume music differently, bouncing from personally curated song to personally curated song rather than sitting through a whole album.
• Bassist Fred Sablan joined Deftones in 2022, replacing Sergio Vega, who in turn had replaced Deftones co-founder Chi Cheng back in 2010 with the band's sixth studio album, Diamond Eyes (Cheng got into a car wreck that put him into a coma in 2008). Sablan got involved in the writing process with Private Music and is given equal cowriting credits along with the other members (except in terms of lyrics, all of which are Moreno).
• Producer Nick Raskulinecz came back for this one. He'd also worked on Diamond Eyes and the band's seventh studio album, Koi No Yokan (2012).