Deftones pictures, interviews, magazine scans.

[pelican fly]

Awesome that Chino thinks so highly of AOAUE.

That song/sound totally caught me off guard the first time I heard it .

One of their best.

[RavinVsFlud]

https://www.grammypro.com/professional-development/article/deftones-talk-friendship-new-album

There's a picture of the video shoot in the link to the article

Deftones Talk Friendship, New Album
The GRAMMY-winning alternative band gives us the inside scoop on their upcoming album, 'Gore'

Steve Baltin and Monica Molinaro | GRAMMYPro.com




Photo: Claire Marie Vogel


It's a gloomy Friday afternoon in the industrial outskirts of Los Angeles, and we are at Pollution Studios to meet up with the multi-platinum alternative band, Deftones. We catch them filming the video for "Prayers And Triangles," the lead track from their forthcoming album Gore. 
The GRAMMY-winning quintet comprised of Chino Moreno, Abe Cunningham, Sergio Vega, Frank Delgado, and Stephen Carpenter are all smiles as they prep for the April 8 release of Gore, their first album since 2012's Koi No Yokan. That they've reached this point and have an album all five members are excited about is reason enough to smile. As frontman Moreno tells us, guitarist Carpenter has been very open about the fact that he wasn't initially on board with the slightly different sound of this album. 
However, the band had a breakthrough rehearsing the new material before the live debut of the tracks at Travis Barker's Musink Festival. Moreno, Vega, and Cunningham sat with us to discuss the new album, why the band's friendship comes first, and why Moreno's influences as a writer range from electronic music to Morrissey. 

Steve Baltin: Are you doing any of the new stuff live this weekend at Musink?

Chino Moreno: Yeah, we're gonna do a couple of songs. Obviously the single "Prayers And Triangles." And we're gonna try to debut one or two more, but we'll see. It sucks because you play a song people haven't heard yet, then someone tapes it with their phone, a live version of it, and that's people's first impression of the music.

Abe Cunningham: That's the world we live in. You want the best possible version out, in this day and age though, everyone has a recording device in their pocket. But we're excited to play new stuff.

Moreno: We had a blast yesterday, we went through three or four of the new songs. We just kept going through the ones we hadn't played because pretty much since we recorded them, we haven't had a chance to really sit around and play these songs. So it's like experiencing them for the first time in a way.

Baltin: Were there albums that reemerged as an inspiration for you during the making of this record?

Sergio Vega: During the making of it I could honestly say I don't really have source records or anything like that. This is more of a gumbo 'cause everybody listens to so many things. I think that's one of the strengths of this band, it's not so easily traced to its roots or the source because the sources are too numerous.
Moreno: And if someone's not feeling something by the first hour or second day we'll start something else. But you know how it is, sometimes it comes like that and sometimes it doesn't. The goal was to make a solid album.

Monica Molinaro: I can imagine that taking a while. Did it?

Moreno: The songs themselves don't really take long. As far as the idea or the spark of the song, we kind of just want to let it happen. Then by the time we get to the studio, you kind of want some of that freshness of not knowing what's going to happen, 'cause there's an unpredictability there.

Molinaro: That translates really beautifully in this album because before I even heard what the lyrics were, I could already feel the emotion.

Moreno: That's how I usually write. I feel like the songs, musically, there's emotion being emitted right there. So my goal is just to react with that and try to magnify that, but never take away from what's already there. And that's kind of the hard part of writing lyrics too, because I never want to be descriptive or giving too much of an opinion of what it should be.

Molinaro: And the tone isn't as optimistic as in the past.

Moreno: I don't think as much as the last two records. I feel like we're optimistic men [everyone laughs]. I know we all feel "doomed," or this sense of doom hanging over us. We do have a lot of optimism, but the record takes on a few more aggressive emotions in there. This record is a little bit more conniving in a way.

Cunningham: And dense, concrete. Production-wise it's like guitars are just boom, boom, boom.

Baltin: When did you notice it was conniving?

Moreno: It's something in retrospect when I look back. I always shy away from my honest feelings. I have a problem with that; I've always had a problem with that. But in a way I don't think it's a problem. There's always a better way to present things than just the obvious, so the goal is to never just run with it completely, but flirt with it as much as possible.

Baltin: Who are the writers who do that for you?

Moreno: Over the last few years, I got so deeply into electronic music and instrumental music because I didn't want someone to dictate to me what I should be feeling while I listen to the song. But on the opposite side of the spectrum of that, I love when someone taunts me a little bit with an idea of something and I'm already feeling that emotion. So, Morrissey is someone who's done that to me, from the Smiths to his solo stuff. He'll be very vague and then he'll say something that just catches you like, "What?!" And that dichotomy is crazy to me, I love that. But, at the end of the day, the way things are said is way more interesting than just trying to hammer someone over the head with something. I'm not that type of person in general; I'm not a political person, I'm not a poet. I very much just react to music that's connecting.

Baltin: What were some of the songs that were most exciting to you, playing them live in rehearsal?

Vega: Playing them back and hearing them live, they just sounded way more brutal and fierce. I see a lot of things when I play. I saw a lot went into this part and how it's embedded with a lot of energy because it didn't come together so easily.

Moreno: What was great yesterday was watching a lot of this metamorphosis of Stephen realizing how heavy and awesome some of these songs are because of the way shit came down. Stephen said himself it took him a while to get into some of these songs. So I think before we started playing yesterday, he didn't know how to relate to some of the songs so much. And then we started playing them and he started realizing, just like I was, how fucking powerful this shit is really and the fact we all were very much a huge part of that, making something from nothing, it's a pretty rad feeling.

Baltin: Did the difficulties in getting Stephen on board give you a stronger appreciation for all you went through in making this record?

Moreno: I fucking love him more today than I ever loved him in my life even though we had one of the most difficult experiences making a record. White Pony was one of the quintessential records where he and I were like not seeing eye-to-eye, but at the same time we answered each other. So as that happened, we started building on each other, sort of outdoing each other in a way. At the end of the day it escalated to greater heights than it would be if there were no conflict.

Molinaro: No wonder it felt like there's so much emotion in there.

Vega: It's in there. Good times, tough times. We all love each other and there's a real love so you don't want someone you're a fan of to not be stoked on something you're all hyped on.

Molinaro: It must have been gratifying to have him get excited for these songs.

Vega: He's super hyped and he's mostly hyped on stuff he was resistant to, which feels good that we managed to pull together and make that happen. It's heavy. I'm just stoked coming into this thing 'cause everyone is so open, it's such a great environment to create with and you've got people open, but also flooding you too and stuff. It's just the best.

Molinaro: Do you feel like this album reveals who you are at this point in life?

Moreno: I definitely think our record should be a reflection of where we are in our lives at this point. Given that we've been doing this for over 20-something years, where we are as friends, musicians, and collaborators ... that shit reflects. When you listen to the record, to me, it sounds like a mature record. It's not White Pony Part 2, it's not Adrenaline Part 2. It's an expanded version of what we did four years ago when we put out our last record and that's what it should always be.

Molinaro: Sometimes it feels like there's more artistry in that, and it shows off who you are in your styles. That's what your fans want and it's what they love about you.

Vega: That's what I noticed about coming in. What people appreciate about these guys is that it's art, it's not a product. It's a result of this friendship and this mutual kind of disparate take on music. First is the friendship, then music as a means of expression and then everything else is like whatever's going on gets filtered through him and goes into that song.

Baltin: You guys worked with Jerry Cantrell from Alice In Chains on this record?

Vega: What was cool about that was he came in and he was like, "Whoa, this is cool." I don't know what it's like for him in his band and how they go on, but we all got something to say and we're all in it. He went and then he called us up and he's like, "I want to do more." He came back to recut it and he's like, "I'll come back and do it again."

Moreno: It was definitely a fun experience.

Molinaro: What do you guys take from this record when you hear the finished version?

Moreno: It's definitely not a light record. I don't think it's a totally dark record, but there's something in our music that has a little provocative kind of vibe to it. And I feel like that exists in our music for some reason. I don't know where it comes from.

Vega: The bitterness [everyone laughs]. We're not really that pissed.

Moreno: For a heavy metal band [laughs].

[ANattyRat]

Awesome interview, thanks for posting. Yet again more comments about how this is a darker, heavier and more aggressive, less-optimistic album than the last two. Good stuff, it was time for a change in mood, I've always wanted that kind of raw darkness to seep into their music again (minus any internal conflicts, relationship problems, drug problems, etc. Just some creative darkness). Interviews like this always increase my hype for the album. Man. the 8th (or the day of the leak) can't come quick enough.

[N0S3BLEED976]

It's going to be their best album yet. At least from the Sergio era. I'm pretty confident

[ANattyRat]

It's going to be their best album yet. At least from the Sergio era. I'm pretty confident

Agreed, from the Sergio era. Based on my own personal musical preferences, of course. Sounds like it ticks all the boxes in my book.

[Vesanic]

Here you go...

Thanks a lot for posting.


I think this interview gives their music and live sets a new perspective. Fans (including myself obviously) have complained about the setlists for ages but truly you could make a psychological analysis out of it.

Stephen seems to understand that they're a band and that even though some songs put them in bad places as individuals, they can make for great sonic experiences as a live act. On the other hand, Chino has a more emotional reaction to it. When an artist doesn't like a record because it reminds them of their worst days, they feel like shit playing it even if it sounds beautiful and I'd say he's not one to put himself through this. Not anymore at least. When they "embraced darkness" on the WP;S/T;SNW tours, he was a different frontman. Remember all the stage dives, the lay-downs, throat-slaying screams, mumbled lyrics and these weird atmospheric moans? I think that was just a singer playing dancing with his own demons onstage. Combine this to a bassist who would headbang so dangerously he probably had neck issues every month, and voilà.

That's probably what some people miss, Deftones' live sets, and thus, music, used to have this unintended, beautiful tragic side to it. It's no news to anyone people like tragedy in art. But what Deftones created was sincere and authentic. That's why they were never seen as a cheesy, candy-selling band. They were raw, and immature to some, but they were real. And when it was half-assed, it wasn't a basic lack of professionalism, it was them drifting away because they were fucking tired, and sometimes it would still work because music is just music. When it sounds weird but "real", it just works at times, and they were the best at this specifically. Their energy and atmosphere onstage, they knew how to initiate it but I don't think they had a total control, nor an actual vision of the layers they'd stack up, because that was the key of it : a sporadic lack of control in the execution. That would induce the beautiful, untouchable chaos, and when they'd play lighter, more upbeat stuff, it would fit just right in. It would never sound cheesy. It brought an even more impressive balance and credibility to what some people could see as just a bunch of headbanging screaming junkies.

You don't need to do much math to understand why all of this is so different now. They're cleaner now, they don't have this sense of danger like before just because they're... saner, in a way. Healthier, at least. Basically they're the same, they're just a band to be a band, and this band feels better, and lighter. The music will never shake the ground and induce this almost-actual post/apocalyptic sense like before, just because it doesn't intend to do that anymore since Deftones are not fucking around anymore. I remember musteatbrains' post about it. It is spot on. Today, they want to live in their houses living calm existences doing what they like. So they make overall lighter music, and when it's heavy, it's mostly to have fun as musicians or bring an extra layer, not to dwell in metal and sonic chaos like they just wanted to before.

Bearing all of that in mind, I still wish there would be a better balance between what Stef wants to try onstage and what Chino would dare himself to do. He hates SNW because it's him as an unconfident person. But art will be art. Rivière is probably an obvious admittance of a pained, struggling musician, but that's probably why it's one of their catalogue standouts. From darkness can stem gold. And while the authenticity will never be the same,  these tunes are still quality and they don't sound fake when played live : the first live recording of Rivière to spread online dates 2010+, years after their dark days, and it still sounded beautiful. Yes, perfectionists could say a little something is missing. But fuck them. 

[ANattyRat]

You make a lot of great points, especially about how when they make heavy music now, it's mostly for fun and to add another layer into it. They're in a better place now, and I think making Diamond Eyes probably helped. They could've used the emotions they were going through to dwell on the sadness and worry, and end up making another self-titled album. But at what cost to their own mental health and happiness? Probably a big one. So they chose to put the 'dark, experimental' album they'd been working on on hold, and make something that was uplifting and therapeutic for them. Regardless of any of our opinions of that album, it was obviously good for them. So now they're in a better place, that darkness doesn't punch you in the core like it used to, because it's more artistic than raw expression. But that's cool, because they're great musicians, and they can capture those feelings awesomely

As hard as it is for them to revisit the past, though, they do that with any song, so I think they should at least try. Like you said, the authenticity will never be there like it was back then, but how incredible was it when they played Riviere??? You were there when they played Combat, right? Even if they made some mistakes or it wasn't perfect, they did that, and everyone at that show got to witness that song being played. That's an amazing memory. So, authentic darkness or not, it's a treat when they decide to give it a go.

[from_musings]

I'm confident that Gore will be their best album for me personally, at least for the Sergio era.

It's going to be their best album yet. At least from the Sergio era. I'm pretty confident

To say it will be the best album out of all 8, and to say it will be the best one out of 3 is a hell of a difference. a big jump there.
you can say "smile is the best deftones song to me, at least top 3"
you don't say "smile is the best deftones song to me, at least top 50"

[illthrowROCKS@U]

I'm with them.  I have this sneaking suspicion that Gore will be my favorite Deftones album since S/T.

[pelican fly]

Yup. I think the new record will be a breath of fresh air from what they have been doing the last 2 albums.

[from_musings]

I'm with them.  I have this sneaking suspicion that Gore will be my favorite Deftones album since S/T.

could be for me too, i don't know, but that was not my point 

[N0S3BLEED976]

I'm confident that Gore will be their best album for me personally, at least for the Sergio era.

It's going to be their best album yet. At least from the Sergio era. I'm pretty confident

To say it will be the best album out of all 8, and to say it will be the best one out of 3 is a hell of a difference. a big jump there.
you can say "smile is the best deftones song to me, at least top 3"
you don't say "smile is the best deftones song to me, at least top 50"

Well, you called me out on my bullshit. But if I said it was going to be their best album, period, (which I actually think it's going to be), there would habe been a hell of a shitstorm, so I played it safe by saying "Sergio Era"

[from_musings]

Yes but playing it safe in a strange way. basically what you're saying is "gore will be the best shit they ever released in their entire career. or at least it will be better than the last two albums" it's such a weird disclaimer to throw in at the last second.

it's like saying "guys tonight i will fuck one girl at the preparty, one in the club's toilet, and then fuck one in the cab home before i pass out.just watch me. That, or at least i will get a girl's telephone number."    ??

i'm a bit afraid ppl are getting their hopes up too much, i saw a lot of people talking about how kny would be "the best shit ever" but i never saw those ppl after the release around here with the "i told you so" . hype is a motherfucker

[illthrowROCKS@U]

Yes but playing it safe in a strange way. basically what you're saying is "gore will be the best shit they ever released in their entire career. or at least it will be better than the last two albums" it's such a weird disclaimer to throw in at the last second.

it's like saying "guys tonight i will fuck one girl at the preparty, one in the club's toilet, and then fuck one in the cab home before i pass out.just watch me. That, or at least i will get a girl's telephone number."    ??

i'm a bit afraid ppl are getting their hopes up too much, i saw a lot of people talking about how kny would be "the best shit ever" but i never saw those ppl after the release around here with the "i told you so" . hype is a motherfucker

Well, I can't speak for any of those other people, but personally I never had this much of an expectation for either KNY or DE.

[ANattyRat]

Yes but playing it safe in a strange way. basically what you're saying is "gore will be the best shit they ever released in their entire career. or at least it will be better than the last two albums" it's such a weird disclaimer to throw in at the last second.

it's like saying "guys tonight i will fuck one girl at the preparty, one in the club's toilet, and then fuck one in the cab home before i pass out.just watch me. That, or at least i will get a girl's telephone number."    ??

i'm a bit afraid ppl are getting their hopes up too much, i saw a lot of people talking about how kny would be "the best shit ever" but i never saw those ppl after the release around here with the "i told you so" . hype is a motherfucker

The difference is that what everyone is saying about the album doesn't sound like what was said about the last two.

[from_musings]

that's  true. i remain cautiously optimistic

[LG95]

Here you go...

Thanks a lot for posting.


I think this interview gives their music and live sets a new perspective. Fans (including myself obviously) have complained about the setlists for ages but truly you could make a psychological analysis out of it.

SNIP

Excellent post, pretty much totally agree.

[StaminaDaddy]

It's going to be their best album yet. At least from the Sergio era. I'm pretty confident

there is no such thing as the sergio era

[from_musings]

"there is no such thing as direction in music"
"pink cellphone isn't a song"
"there is no such thing as the sergio era"

I'm a bit curious of your next "there is no such thing as"-post, i'll admit

[ANattyRat]

"there is no such thing as direction in music"
"pink cellphone isn't a song"
"there is no such thing as the sergio era"

I'm a bit curious of your next "there is no such thing as"-post, i'll admit

There's no such thing as curiosity.