Deftones Begin Work on ‘Organic’ New Album
Deftones frontman Chino Moreno revealed that the band have started work on their upcoming eighth album.
Speaking at Melbourne’s Soundwave Festival, Moreno said that while he hasn’t begun work on the album personally, “the other guys started last week – I’m excited to hear what they’ve done so far.”
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Asked about the album’s direction, Moreno admitted that the group’s process is more organic than deliberate. “We don’t plan on what kind of record we’re going to make,” said the singer. “We react to each other – one guy starts playing something then the other guy reacts to it, and the other guys react to that. Next thing we know, we have a song. I think that’s the best, organic way to write music. It’s worked for us over the years.”
The new album will be their first since the death of longtime bassist Chi Cheng, who was involved in a fatal car accident in 2008 and taken off life support last year. Speaking to Rolling Stone last month, Moreno spoke of the impact of Cheng’s death. “He’ll always be thought about on a day-to-day basis. It’s not something that goes away, obviously,” Moreno said. “I think that when he did pass, it was very hard. It was five years where he was in a state where he couldn’t speak. He was existing, but not existing. He was here, but not here. It was very hard on us and it was really hard on him.
“I feel like with his passing, not to get back into the supernatural, he is more with us now then he was in the five years when he was stuck in that sort of in-between space. It’s a little bit of a relief because I know that he’s not suffering. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think of him.”
Last month, Moreno released ††† (Crosses), his New Wave and electronic music-inspired side project. “[The New Wave era] was basically the scene that I came up on,” Moreno said. “I just happened to wind up in a metal band when I was 15. I’ve always had a deep passion for a lot of early electronic and sampled music.”
Chino Moreno Talks New Deftones Album