Deftones
Deftones performing at the Shepherd's Bush Empire in 2011; from left to right: Carpenter, Cunningham, Moreno, and Vega
Background information
Origin	Sacramento, California, U.S.
Genres	Alternative metal art rock shoegaze nu metal (early)
Works	Deftones discography
Years active	1988–present
Labels	Maverick Warner Reprise
Spinoffs	Team Sleep Crosses Palms Phallucy Sol Invicto Kush Saudade Decibel Devils
Members	Stephen Carpenter Abe Cunningham Chino Moreno Frank Delgado
Past members	Dominic Garcia Chi Cheng John Taylor Sergio Vega
Website	deftones.com

Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California, in 1988. They were formed by frontman Chino Moreno, lead guitarist Stephen Carpenter and drummer Abe Cunningham, with bassist Chi Cheng and keyboardist and turntablist Frank Delgado joining the lineup in 1990 and 1999, respectively.

After the lineup settled in 1993, Deftones secured a recording contract with Maverick Records, and subsequently released their debut album Adrenaline in 1995. Extensive touring and word-of-mouth promotion of the album helped Deftones garner a dedicated fan base. Their second album, Around the Fur (1997), was certified platinum in the US. The band found further success with their third album White Pony (2000), which marked a transition from their earlier, more aggressive sound into a more experimental direction; its track "Elite" won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. Their self-titled fourth album was released in 2003 and debuted at number 2 on the US Billboard 200. Deftones' fifth studio album, Saturday Night Wrist (2006) was marred by creative tensions and personal issues within the band, some of which influenced its material.

In 2008, while Deftones were working on an album tentatively titled Eros, Cheng was involved in a traffic collision. As a result, he was left in a minimally conscious state until his death in 2013 of cardiac arrest. After Cheng's accident, Deftones halted production on Eros and recruited Quicksand bassist Sergio Vega until his departure in early 2021.^[a] The band returned with Diamond Eyes in 2010, and their next three albums, Koi No Yokan (2012), Gore (2016) and Ohms (2020), all received widespread critical acclaim. In 2025, Deftones released their tenth studio album, Private Music, which became the band's most acclaimed album of their career, also charting in a career-high 26 countries.

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