Deftones often confound expectations. Although many wrote them off along with their so-called nu-metal peers, the Sacramento band weathered fleeting trends, drug addiction and even tragedy by remaining true to their initial sonic vision: marrying beautiful melodies and punishing guitars.
Following the recent release of their eighth album, Gore, this month's Timeline feature takes a deep dive into Deftones' improbably long career. Before you get your hands on a copy of this month's issue of Exclaim! to read the full story, check out a small sample of the kind of stuff you'll get to learn about the band below.
Five Noteworthy Facts You May Not Know About Deftones:
5. The first song guitarist Stephen Carpenter learned how to play was Ratt's "Round and Round."
While watching Ratt's "Round and Round" video, Carpenter figures out his first chord by copying guitarist Warren DeMartini's fingering. He perfects power chords by playing along with Anthrax, SOD and Metallica records. "It only took me a couple of weeks to get to where I could fake it and sound like I kind of knew what I was doing," he tells Guitar World in 1997.
4. Producer Ross Robinson passes the band's demo to the members of Korn, with whom he is working, and the two groups become fast friends.
At a show in Bakersfield, outside of Los Angeles, they meet relatively unknown producer Ross Robinson, who is working with a local band called Korn. They give him one of their demo tapes. "A couple days later, the Korn guys called and said, 'Dude, we like it, we want to play shows with you guys,'" Chino Moreno tells Guitar World in 1997. Shortly after the two groups play a show together (Deftones play after Korn). "I tripped out and said, 'this is kind of like what we're doing,' Moreno says in Katherine Turman and Jon Wiederhorn's book Louder Than Hell. "Except their shit was a little more dark."
3. Deftones are accused of inciting a riot.
On October 5, 1996, the band are blamed for inciting a riot at Phoenix's annual UFest. Several fires had already been set on the grounds prior to their set and fans were hopping the metal barricades into the VIP section in front of the stage. Moreno is visibly drunk and feuding with Cunningham, who walks off the stage a few songs in. After the soundman cuts the power, the crowd storms the stage, causing $150,000 in damages. "The crowd went crazy and started jumping on stage and smashing everything," Carpenter tells Guitar World. "We got whisked away backstage and then kids started burning shit and climbing the light rigs and everything. We didn't cause the riot, we just happened to be there when the shit went down."
2. Deftones initially asked Ric Ocasek to produce Saturday Night Wrist
The band begin working on new material in Sacramento in the spring of 2004 before moving to Malibu, working at Morning View House, where Incubus recorded Morning View. They write an album's worth of material and try to enlist Ric Ocasek and Failure's Ken Andrew to produce, but both are unavailable. Moreno and Cunningham convince the rest of the band to go with Bob Ezrin, known for his work with KISS, Pink Floyd and Alice Cooper.
1. A fan is killed during their set at a 2006 Family Values Tour stop in Atlanta.
During a stop in Atlanta, 30-year old Andy Richardson is killed after a fight breaks out in the mosh pit during Deftones' set. Richardson's head hit the concrete floor after he was punch by 24-year-old Scott Axley, who is charged with his murder a week later.
Following the recent release of their eighth album, Gore, this month's Timeline feature takes a deep dive into Deftones' improbably long career. Before you get your hands on a copy of this month's issue of Exclaim! to read the full story, check out a small sample of the kind of stuff you'll get to learn about the band below.
Five Noteworthy Facts You May Not Know About Deftones:
5. The first song guitarist Stephen Carpenter learned how to play was Ratt's "Round and Round."
While watching Ratt's "Round and Round" video, Carpenter figures out his first chord by copying guitarist Warren DeMartini's fingering. He perfects power chords by playing along with Anthrax, SOD and Metallica records. "It only took me a couple of weeks to get to where I could fake it and sound like I kind of knew what I was doing," he tells Guitar World in 1997.
4. Producer Ross Robinson passes the band's demo to the members of Korn, with whom he is working, and the two groups become fast friends.
At a show in Bakersfield, outside of Los Angeles, they meet relatively unknown producer Ross Robinson, who is working with a local band called Korn. They give him one of their demo tapes. "A couple days later, the Korn guys called and said, 'Dude, we like it, we want to play shows with you guys,'" Chino Moreno tells Guitar World in 1997. Shortly after the two groups play a show together (Deftones play after Korn). "I tripped out and said, 'this is kind of like what we're doing,' Moreno says in Katherine Turman and Jon Wiederhorn's book Louder Than Hell. "Except their shit was a little more dark."
3. Deftones are accused of inciting a riot.
On October 5, 1996, the band are blamed for inciting a riot at Phoenix's annual UFest. Several fires had already been set on the grounds prior to their set and fans were hopping the metal barricades into the VIP section in front of the stage. Moreno is visibly drunk and feuding with Cunningham, who walks off the stage a few songs in. After the soundman cuts the power, the crowd storms the stage, causing $150,000 in damages. "The crowd went crazy and started jumping on stage and smashing everything," Carpenter tells Guitar World. "We got whisked away backstage and then kids started burning shit and climbing the light rigs and everything. We didn't cause the riot, we just happened to be there when the shit went down."
2. Deftones initially asked Ric Ocasek to produce Saturday Night Wrist
The band begin working on new material in Sacramento in the spring of 2004 before moving to Malibu, working at Morning View House, where Incubus recorded Morning View. They write an album's worth of material and try to enlist Ric Ocasek and Failure's Ken Andrew to produce, but both are unavailable. Moreno and Cunningham convince the rest of the band to go with Bob Ezrin, known for his work with KISS, Pink Floyd and Alice Cooper.
1. A fan is killed during their set at a 2006 Family Values Tour stop in Atlanta.
During a stop in Atlanta, 30-year old Andy Richardson is killed after a fight breaks out in the mosh pit during Deftones' set. Richardson's head hit the concrete floor after he was punch by 24-year-old Scott Axley, who is charged with his murder a week later.