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10 songs that feel like Head Up

Matched to Head Up by Deftones on how the music actually moves — intensity, dynamic swing, texture, tempo — not by genre tag. Here's what makes each one a match.

The song you love
Head Up
Deftones
intense 75/100 intensity 100 BPM
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Impossible Soul — Sufjan Stevens intense 120 BPM

A 94% feel-match — carries the same cathartic pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (80/100).

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Superunknown — Soundgarden intense 90 BPM

98% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (74/100). Same layered texture.

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Immortalized — Disturbed intense 90 BPM

Keeps the same cathartic pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (74/100). Measured 98% alike.

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If You Were There, Beware — Arctic Monkeys intense 120 BPM

Measures 96% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (77/100). Same layered texture.

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Reigns — Idles intense 120 BPM

A 96% feel-match — carries the same cathartic pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (77/100).

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Blood Eagle Wings — Anthrax intense 120 BPM

96% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (77/100). Same layered texture.

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For Your Soul — Disturbed intense 120 BPM

Keeps the same cathartic pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (77/100). Measured 96% alike.

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Blow Me Away — Breaking Benjamin intense 120 BPM

Measures 96% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (77/100). Same layered texture.

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Sickle and Peace — Mastodon intense 120 BPM

A 96% feel-match — carries the same cathartic pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (77/100).

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The Beginning and the End — Isis intense 120 BPM

96% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (77/100). Same layered texture.

…and if you want it calmer

Same feeling, measured gentler — for when Head Up is more than you want right now.

Woman in Chains by Tears for Fears
Woman in Chains — Tears for Fears moderate 104 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but it measures markedly calmer overall. Intensity 58/100, down from 75. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Come On by Lucinda Williams
Come On — Lucinda Williams moderate 85 BPM

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 6 where the original climbs to 8, so it lands at 46/100 — the pull without the edge.

Long Time Gone by Crosby, Stills & Nash
Long Time Gone — Crosby, Stills & Nash moderate 92 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while it measures markedly calmer overall. Reads 50/100. Nearly the same tempo, too.

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Hunger — Florence and the Machine moderate 110 BPM

Holds the same feel while it measures markedly calmer overall. 52/100, versus the original's 75. Nearly the same tempo, too.

I Need a Doctor by Dr. Dre
I Need a Doctor — Dr. Dre moderate 90 BPM

Keeps the same feel of the original, but it measures markedly calmer overall. Intensity 56/100, down from 75. Nearly the same tempo, too.

Pagan Poetry by Björk
Pagan Poetry — Björk moderate 92 BPM

Its dynamic range stays a gentler 6 where the original climbs to 8, so it lands at 30/100 — the pull without the edge. Nearly the same tempo, too.

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CPR — Wet Leg moderate 130 BPM

If it's the same feel you're after, this delivers it while it eases off just enough to take the edge off. Reads 86/100.

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I've Gotta Get a Message to You — Bee Gees moderate 120 BPM

Holds the same feel while it measures markedly calmer overall. 60/100, versus the original's 75.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “Head Up” by Deftones?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “Impossible Soul” by Sufjan Stevens, “Superunknown” by Soundgarden, “Immortalized” by Disturbed — the top match scores 94% alike. Matching is by how the songs actually move (intensity, dynamic range, texture, tempo, predictability, vocal force), not by genre tag or popularity.

What songs are like “Head Up” but calmer?

“Woman in Chains” by Tears for Fears, “Come On” by Lucinda Williams, “Long Time Gone” by Crosby, Stills & Nash keep a similar feel while measuring gentler — lower dynamic swing, fewer sudden shifts, or a calmer overall level.

How intense is “Head Up”?

It measures 75/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 8/10, layered texture, frequent sudden shifts, and dynamic vocals. Tempo is 100 BPM.

How do you decide which songs are similar?

Every song in our catalog is measured on 8 dimensions — intensity, dynamic range, tempo, sudden changes, texture, predictability, vocal force and fine sound detail. Similarity is the distance between two songs across those measurements, so matches cross genres and eras. Shared mood tags break ties.

By the numbers: how this song compares

Computed from this song’s place among the 19,209 songs we’ve measured.

Where it sits in 19,000 songs

This is one of the more intense things in our library — more energetic than 92% of the 19,209 songs we've measured. Its intensity reading of 75/100 comes from a dynamic range of 8/10, layered texture, frequent shifts, and dynamic vocals. Relatively few songs occupy this exact corner of the spectrum.

What makes it unusual

What stands out most about this song is blazing intensity: more extreme on that axis than 92% of everything we've measured. At the far opposite end of the library sit the songs built on near-total stillness — steady volume, no surprises, a slow and unhurried pulse — the kind of track this one is the counterpoint to.

Feels almost identical to

Closest matches by feel across all 19,209 measured songs — not by genre or artist, by how they actually move.

What it’s good for

Sleep0/10
Focus2/10
Workout5/10
Dinner5/10
Party / hype6/10

Scored from this song’s tempo, intensity, dynamics and texture — not crowd votes.

1997 in context

The 389 songs we’ve measured from 1997 average a dynamic range of 6.6/10. At 8/10, this track is louder and more dynamic than its year.

Mixes smoothly with

Within a few BPM and close in feel — they flow without a jarring transition.

The fingerprint

Intensity75
Dynamics78
Tempo33
Surprise75
Density33
Predictability100
Vocal force75
Trigger load25

The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.

Want the single closest match, with every dimension compared?

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