System of a Down Joins with Deftones for August Tour : April 24, 2012

Just a few days after it was announced that System of a Down and the Deftones both would appear at Toronto’s TO Festival, now the two bands have revealed they will team [...]

Deftones Hit the Road in April : January 10, 2011

The Deftones are headed back to the road in North America in support of “Diamond Eyes,” their latest release from this spring. The alt-rockers will be kicking off a [...]

deftones Biography

For more than 20 years, Deftones has been one of the pillars of alternative metal music, at a time when the genre underwent massive and various changes, or reformations. But they are also known for being successful music experimentalists, a gate which they have opened from the very start of their career when they christened themselves as ‘Deftones’, a combination of the word “def”, a common slang in rap and urban circles, and “-tones” a common suffix among bands such as The Harotones and The Monotones. They infused various themes and sounds to their music – from melancholic dream pop, to trip-hop, prog-rock, to grunge rock and even psychedelic rock and rap metal - while sticking true to their heavy metal core. To date, they have released six critically acclaimed studio albums, four of which are platinum and gold certified by the RIAA.

The California-based band is currently composed of Chino Moreno on lead vocals and guitars, Stephen Carpenter on guitars, Chi Cheng and Sergio Vega on bass, Frank Delgado on keyboards and turntables, and Abe Cunningham on drums. Moreno, Carpenter and Cunningham go way back in high school. Vega currently holds the bassist post in the absence of Cheng, who is still gradually recuperating from comatose after he suffered a car accident in 2008, rendering him severely injured neurologically. Delgado, also known as DJ Speedboat, started to be attached to the band after his name appeared on the credits for ‘Around the Fur’, their second album. He became a full-time Deftones member after ‘White Pony’, the band’s third record, was released in 2000.

Moreno, Carpenter, Cunningham and Cheng make up Deftones at the time of their formation in 1988. For seven years, they just played at various clubs in Sacramento, the bay area and in Los Angeles. In 1995, after signing under Maverick Records, they released their debut record, ‘Adrenaline’. The album, which never charted (except for the Billboard Heatseekers chart at no. 23) but went on to become platinum certified after 13 years, would be their first collaboration with Terry Date, who produced the band’s first four records. The record spawned the frequently covered single ‘Engine no. 9’ and was raved by critics for its distinct sound, a product of the band’s technical and instrumental prowess, particularly that of Cunningham’s, and Moreno’s hush vocals, imparting a dreamy texture to their music.

‘Around the Fur’ surfaced in 1997 and was the band’s first record to enter the Billboard 200 at no.29. Also platinum certified, the album featured several collaborations including one with Max Cavalera of Sepultura for the song ‘Headup’, Delgado, and Annalyn Cunningham, the drummer’s wife who lent her voice for the track ‘MX’. The track ‘My Own Summer (Shove It)’ was among the soundtracks for the first ‘The Matrix’ film.

They followed-up ‘Fur’ with another platinum certified hit, ‘White Pony’. An almost 180-degree turn from their usual sound, the record featured some drifty and blissful melodies and lyrics such as in ‘Teenager’ and some trip-hop beats thanks to Delgado and DJ Crook from Team Sleep, Moreno’s side project. It also featured collaborations from Tool’s Maynard James Keenan for the track ‘Passenger’ and Velvet Revolver’s Scott Weiland and Rodleen Getsic for the song ‘RX Queen’. The record also spawned the band’s first Grammy win for Best Metal Performance with the song ‘Elite’.

Their self-titled fourth record was released on 2003 with the over-all direction of the new material wholly based on the creative success of ‘White Pony’. In a Rolling Stone article, bassist Cheng said, "We've proven that we can musically go in any direction we want, and we want to get kind of heavy on this one,” which is exactly what they did. The record was raved not only for its “in-your-face” creativity and boldness, but also for its timeliness, as these were the years when alternative metal music was slowly transforming – or “declining”, as described by heavy metal pundits and loyalists – into nu metal or rap metal. "It's all on record. We told motherfuckers not to lump us in with nu metal because when those bands go down we aren't going to be with them," Moreno said in a Kerrang! interview. The record was the band’s highest charter to date, peaking at the Billboard 200 at no.2.

‘Saturday Night Wrist’ would be the band’s first record without Terry Date, as they opted to work with producer Bob Ezrin instead. Released in 2006, the fifth record was plagued with tensions between the members, almost leading to their disbandment. In fact, Moreno had to record his vocals separately because of the conflicts. ‘Wrist’ would also be Cheng’s last record with the band to date due to his car accident.

After months to almost a year of delay, due to Cheng’s condition and for creative reasons, the band released ‘Diamond Eyes’ in 2010, their sixth and most recent record to date. It is also their first release under Reprise Records and their first studio set with Vega, who has joined them in previous outings and has temporarily filled in for Cheng back in 1998. It entered the Billboard 200 at no.6 and was named Rock Album of the Year by iTunes. It spawned the singles ‘Rocket Skates’ and the title track.

Earlier in 2011, they released the LP ‘Covers’, which includes renditions of Sade’s ‘No Ordinary Love’, ‘Drive’ by the Cars and The Cure’s ‘If Only Tonight We Could Sleep’. In October, they released a limited edition vinyl compilation of all their six records. Only 1,000 copies were printed and distributed.