YS Online Exclusive: How soon is now?: The Deftones in Manila. finally!
It was once said of the Deftones that of all the bands that rocked hard during the “NU-metal heyday,” they seemed to rock a little too hard than what was deemed “safe.” At the time, the few clips on rotation on the music channels plus their guest appearances on talk shows like “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” made it apparent what the music press and industry were talking about. At that time, the bands that came under that umbrella had their usual schtick, like jumping in unison or taking their fashion cues from the worst of ‘80s rap and metal but the Deftones were different. Although not immune to their peers’ posturing, they looked and — more importantly — sounded more bare-knuckled and really just damaged. If there was any badass choreography in their act, it owed more to Morrissey than MC Hammer. (Not far off, if you take note that they did cover The Smiths’ Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want and, regrettably, Duran Duran’s My Chauffeur.)
“We’re not afraid to be pretty,” says frontman Chino Moreno in the press kits to support their latest LP, “Diamond Eyes.” The write-up also says that the 11 songs are “guaranteed to transport you to a place that feels a whole lot better than where you originally started.” Which, in hindsight, is more of a capsule history of the past 23 years of the band. Starting out as a five-piece outfit from Sacramento, they’ve struggled, reaped mainstream success but always singled out from the rest of the lot (i.e. Korn, Limp Bizkit, Alien Ant Farm) as critical favourites and they’re still soldiering on. Yup, they were never afraid to be pretty (nor conscious of their weight) throughout the years and this has essentially made them last.
“There are so many emotions that music can give you, and if you explore all sides of those, it can be really amazing,” says Moreno. “Like sadness — it can be really lovely, or beautiful, or wide open, or coarse. We connect with different emotions because we listen to everything out there: that could mean dumb music or something by Brian Eno. Then when we play, it’s not a real conscious thing, but the emotion builds and it takes us in a lot of different ways. I think that’s what music is supposed to do.”
“We’re not a party band, but we’re not a dark rock band,” says Moreno. “We’re not the most wildly artistic band, but we’re not light and fluffy. It’s hard to put us in one place. I don’t blame people when they try to do it, because I can’t even pin it myself. But really, does it matter?”
No, it doesn’t, actually. And if they rock harder than their contemporaries, then maybe this has less to do with testosterone than serotonin levels. That famous line that Pete Townsend once wrote, “Hope I die before I get old,” was only taken literally by idiots. For The Deftones, they’re still got a lot of growing up to do before they start to get old. 
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Splintr.com presents “Deftones Live in Manila” at the World Trade Center on Feb. 12, 2011. Opening for them will be local rock acts, Urbandub and Slapshock. The event is co-presented by Dickies, together with MYX, Balls Channel, Jam 88.3 & NU107 Cebu. In cooperation with FHM.com.ph, Odysseylive.net, Indiejam.org, Uno magazine, Built by Sonic, Sonic Boom, YoungStar, and JB Music.
