Deftones is an American rock/alternative metal band from Sacramento, California, formed in 1988, consisting of Chino Moreno (lead vocals and guitar), Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Chi Cheng (bass), Frank Delgado (keyboards and turntables), and Abe Cunningham (drums and percussion). Sergio Vega (formerly of Quicksand) took on bass duties in mid-2009 in substitution for Cheng, who was seriously injured in an automobile accident in Santa Clara, California on November 4, 2008. Cheng remained in a coma until his death on April 13, 2013 due to cardiac arrest.
While they were mostly an alternative metal band in their early years, their sound changed into something more complex and experimental in 2000, as a result they are often coined today as an alternative rock band.
Critics have often praised them as one of the closest to unique rock bands of recent years for their innovative, atmospheric music; as Johnny Loftus writes, “Rock critics usually reserve a special place for Deftones above or at least away from the rest of the turn-of-the-century metal movement […] Deftones have always seemed more curious, more willing to incorporate traditionally revered sounds like dream pop and DC hardcore into their Northern California alt-metal.”
Frontman Chino Moreno’s poetic lyrics—described by a Time magazine critic as “fiercely intelligent”—are often evocative, yet are sparse enough to allow for multiple interpretations.
