Deftones

In the wake of the grunge movement, Deftones devised an alternative metal style to thrash out a more sprawling, emotive sound, and were unafraid to incorporate the odd melody or tell of a heavy heart. Childhood friends from Sacramento, California united through a love of skateboarding; the band formed when Stephen Carpenter was hit by a car and, unable to skate, taught himself guitar. Signed to Madonna's Maverick label, they toured relentlessly, including support slots with the likes of Korn, L7 and Ozzy Osbourne. Their avid fan base sent early albums Adrenaline (1995) and Around The Fur (1997) into the US Top 30. Firm favourites on the hard rock scene, it was third album White Pony (2000) that crashed into the mainstream reaching Number 3 in the US charts and winning a Grammy Award for the track Elite. The eponymous Deftones (2003) confirmed their growing popularity, reaching Number 2 in the US and Number 7 in the UK, and the band continued to mature and experiment on Saturday Night Wrist (2006), Diamond Eyes (2010), Koi No Yokan (2012) and Gore (2016). In 2020, they returned with not only a new LP, Ohms – marking Carpenter’s debut on the nine-string guitar – but also a White Pony remix album, celebrating its twentieth anniversary and dubbed Black Stallion, which featured contributions from Clams Casino, The Cure’s Robert Smith and Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda among others. One of the most diverse hard rock acts around, Deftones continue to draw on influences as wide-ranging as Sepultura, Cocteau Twins and Radiohead, but are united by Carpenter's driving riffs and Moreno's howling, inhaling screams.

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