Deftones Tour Dates 2026 — Full Schedule, Cities & Venues

Deftones Tour Dates — FAQ

About Deftones

Deftones formed in Sacramento, California in 1988 when guitarist Stephen Carpenter, drummer Abe Cunningham, and vocalist Chino Moreno started jamming together in their teens. Bassist Chi Cheng joined in 1990 and turntablist/keyboardist Frank Delgado came on board through the mid-1990s, locking the classic lineup in place. The band built a regional following through the early '90s, signed to Maverick Records in 1994, and released their debut Adrenaline in October 1995 — a raw, hardcore-adjacent record produced by Terry Date that introduced the abrasive guitar tone and the Moreno scream and laid the groundwork for what would become alternative metal's most cinematic discography. Around the Fur followed in October 1997, sharpening the songwriting and producing the band's first crossover singles in Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away) and My Own Summer (Shove It), and selling the better part of a million copies in the United States. The landmark arrived in June 2000: White Pony, the third album, broadened the palette into shoegaze textures, trip-hop atmosphere, and an emotional vulnerability that no other heavy band of the era was attempting. Change (In the House of Flies) became the band's biggest crossover hit; Digital Bath, Knife Prty, and Passenger (the Maynard James Keenan duet) became fan-cultic anchors; Elite won the band their first and to date only Grammy, for Best Metal Performance, at the 2001 ceremony. White Pony went platinum, made nearly every critic's decade-end list, and is widely regarded as the high-water mark of the entire alternative metal genre. The self-titled Deftones followed in May 2003, leaning aggressive again with Hexagram, Minerva, and Bloody Cape. Saturday Night Wrist (October 2006) was a famously difficult record to make — Moreno tracking his vocals in separate sessions from the band, Cheng's role contested, the producer changed mid-project — but produced Hole in the Earth and the Annie Hardy duet Pink Cellphone and remains a fan favourite. Tragedy struck in November 2008 when Chi Cheng was injured in a car accident that left him in a minimally conscious state; he passed away in April 2013 after years of family-led recovery efforts. Sergio Vega, who had previously toured with the band, stepped in on bass and recorded Diamond Eyes (May 2010) — the album the band wrote in the immediate aftermath as a creative response to Cheng's accident. Diamond Eyes was warmly received and produced the title track, Rocket Skates, and Sextape. Koi No Yokan followed in November 2012, deepening the atmospheric and shoegaze elements through Swerve City, Tempest, and Rosemary. Gore (April 2016) leaned into a brighter, more textural guitar sound with Prayers/Triangles and Doomed User. Ohms (September 2020) reunited the band with Terry Date as producer for the first time since Around the Fur, returning to a heavier register through Genesis, Ceremony, and the title track. Private Music arrived in 2024 as the ninth studio album, extending the catalogue further. Sergio Vega exited the band in 2021, with Fred Sablan and other bassists handling subsequent touring duties; the personnel question has been quietly handled rather than turned into a public statement. Across the run Deftones have sold more than ten million albums worldwide, charted four top-ten records on the Billboard 200, and become one of the most-cited influences on every heavy band that has formed in the twenty-five years since White Pony — from Loathe and Spiritbox to half of the modern shoegaze revival.

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