Earlier this year, Deftones shared they were eyeing a September release for their ninth studio album, and teasers have come fast and furious in recent weeks as the month approaches. Now, a new profile has offered more detail of the band's new effort, while fans believe they've uncovered its title.
A conversation with Kerrang! opens with frontman Chino Moreno outlining some of the inevitable asks he and his bandmates will face surrounding a new album:
'Is it heavy?' he will be asked.
"Do you mean, 'Does it sound like Meshuggah?'" Chino will reply. "No, it's not heavy like that."
'Is it fast?' will follow. 'Are there double bass pedals all over it?'
"No, but when have we ever sounded like that?" Chino will offer.
It goes on like this. The questions keep coming.
'Is it angry?' pings another enquiry.
"Some parts of it are angry," Chino will nod. "But have we ever made records that are just angry from beginning to end? No, we've never done that."
The article reveals that Deftones worked on 12 total songs with returning producer Terry Date, while confirming that 10 of those would make the final cut. Having heard the album in-studio, Kerrang! writer George Garner details the LP's opening track as follows:
The opening track, for instance, which begins with a gorgeous synth passage from Frank, had a complete overhaul. The screamed vocals you will hear were first demoed at Chino's house over Christmas when he decided he didn't like his initial approach on the song as it had already been recorded. Picture this: Chino — a preternaturally gifted vocalist — demoing his new take by whispering his screams into the mic so as not to disturb the people in his home. Stunning moments mount up: one song starts with a bassline so rapid Sergio Vega's left hand probably has no fingerprints left.
The profile also describes the album's first single, which has yet to materialize, as "a gargantuan addition to Deftones' library," with "a riff — both ear-quaking yet somehow joyous-sounding — so big that it left the rest of the band in a quandary."
Of the aforementioned single, Moreno told Kerrang!, "That was one of the first things written... [guitarist Stephen Carpenter] sent a demo of the whole song three or so years ago. I love opening up my email and seeing something from him because it really feels like he's engaged — that engages me like crazy."
Drummer Abe Cunningham added, "Stephen's guitar tone is so damn thick on that. It's hard to get the drums and everything else sounding huge when the fucking guitar's eating up all of that prime real estate!"
You can read the band's entire conversation with Kerrang! here.
Meanwhile, Deftones have continued to roll out cryptic photos and videos, leading fans to believe that an album announcement is imminent. Enterprising internet sleuths point out that graphic teasers through Spotify reference songs and lyrics from the band's earlier Date-produced albums, with the first letters of those track titles spelling "Ohms." ThePRP points out that Moreno had previously named the album in an interview that has since been scrubbed from the internet.
UPDATE (8/19, 3 p.m. ET): A new teaser from Deftones offers up the coordinates for a billboard, which prominently displays the dot-drawn face from an earlier tease. The billboard reads, "This is our time, we devour the days ahead 9-25-20."
A conversation with Kerrang! opens with frontman Chino Moreno outlining some of the inevitable asks he and his bandmates will face surrounding a new album:
'Is it heavy?' he will be asked.
"Do you mean, 'Does it sound like Meshuggah?'" Chino will reply. "No, it's not heavy like that."
'Is it fast?' will follow. 'Are there double bass pedals all over it?'
"No, but when have we ever sounded like that?" Chino will offer.
It goes on like this. The questions keep coming.
'Is it angry?' pings another enquiry.
"Some parts of it are angry," Chino will nod. "But have we ever made records that are just angry from beginning to end? No, we've never done that."
The article reveals that Deftones worked on 12 total songs with returning producer Terry Date, while confirming that 10 of those would make the final cut. Having heard the album in-studio, Kerrang! writer George Garner details the LP's opening track as follows:
The opening track, for instance, which begins with a gorgeous synth passage from Frank, had a complete overhaul. The screamed vocals you will hear were first demoed at Chino's house over Christmas when he decided he didn't like his initial approach on the song as it had already been recorded. Picture this: Chino — a preternaturally gifted vocalist — demoing his new take by whispering his screams into the mic so as not to disturb the people in his home. Stunning moments mount up: one song starts with a bassline so rapid Sergio Vega's left hand probably has no fingerprints left.
The profile also describes the album's first single, which has yet to materialize, as "a gargantuan addition to Deftones' library," with "a riff — both ear-quaking yet somehow joyous-sounding — so big that it left the rest of the band in a quandary."
Of the aforementioned single, Moreno told Kerrang!, "That was one of the first things written... [guitarist Stephen Carpenter] sent a demo of the whole song three or so years ago. I love opening up my email and seeing something from him because it really feels like he's engaged — that engages me like crazy."
Drummer Abe Cunningham added, "Stephen's guitar tone is so damn thick on that. It's hard to get the drums and everything else sounding huge when the fucking guitar's eating up all of that prime real estate!"
You can read the band's entire conversation with Kerrang! here.
Meanwhile, Deftones have continued to roll out cryptic photos and videos, leading fans to believe that an album announcement is imminent. Enterprising internet sleuths point out that graphic teasers through Spotify reference songs and lyrics from the band's earlier Date-produced albums, with the first letters of those track titles spelling "Ohms." ThePRP points out that Moreno had previously named the album in an interview that has since been scrubbed from the internet.
UPDATE (8/19, 3 p.m. ET): A new teaser from Deftones offers up the coordinates for a billboard, which prominently displays the dot-drawn face from an earlier tease. The billboard reads, "This is our time, we devour the days ahead 9-25-20."
Deftones' ninth studio album will follow 2016's Gore. Earlier this year, the band teased a reissue of their seminal White Pony album for its 20th anniversary, along with new remix collection Black Stallion.
