Words by Mike Hohnen
Some bands occupy the role of merely a gateway through to another level of musical enlightenment, some, however, embed themselves so deeply in your own personal soundtrack that they stay with you, almost guiding you through it, acting as an unwavering standard – Enter Deftones.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a well-rounded music fan that doesn’t have a personal connection to one of the band’s albums, and with the release of this years’ Gore, their influence continues.
In a matter of weeks, the band will be bringing the record to our shores. We spoke to bassist Sergio Vega about how the fans, and indeed the band, have taken to the record months after it’s release and what we can expect from its live translation.
How’s things?
I’m doing quite well actually *laughs* I’m in Lower Manhattan…We just got off a tour, we were out for six weeks and that was really awesome and now we’re home for about two weeks then we jump right back in it.
The band is gallivanting across the globe taking the new album, Gore, to the people, how have the shows been so far?
The shows have been so exciting. We enjoy playing, we enjoy hanging out with each other and we’re excited to have new material to share. We’ve also played some older songs from albums like Koi No Yokan that we hadn’t played prior.
We’re kind of riding a wave of good vibes internally and good vibes from the people who come to see us. It makes it really a lot of fun. We’re really excited to get back to Australia to be perfectly honest with you. We as a band and as individuals really love being there.
Soon you’ll be bringing it to Australia. It really feels like Deftones have embedded themselves so deeply here; the band seems to play a key role in the journey of discovery for most dedicated music fans, my editor included! Is it like this the world over?
We’re lucky in the sense that people pick up on our actual passion for being in a band. And people also pick up on the fact that we aren’t really contrived or over-pretentious, our friendship with each other and all those things combined, it creates records that have a really cool energy and I think people pick up on that whether they know it or not.
There’s something in the records that’s like, they’re just real! They’re not a product or a package. I think that the people who vibe with us get that. What we like in Australia is it’s a place that embodies passion. There’s not a lot of pretence, so this brings in people who are awesome and excited and exciting!
We always have a good time there. Whether it be going to bars, or playing shows or going out to eat or just walking around, there’s just so much goodness there.
The love goes both ways, we put Gore up to #1 on our charts upon release!
Yeah, that was a big deal for us. Having a number one album for any amount of time is such an accomplishment for the type of band we are. It really was a big deal, and especially because of the way we did it. It was really about the art and the craftsmanship, not about whatever’s cool at the moment or trends.
We made music that felt right with us and it just happened to resonate with enough people for us to get that #1.
It would be interesting to know, now that you’ve had some months to process Gore since its release, how does the band view the record in hindsight now that fans have had a chance to sink their teeth into it?
I feel very strongly about this record, I really back it. And I love playing it. We made a record that’s really fun for us to play, that challenges us as musicians. I really like the way the songs sound live, they have extra grit. We’re raw and heavy live and it’s a good feeling.
That must be fairly rewarding to know that the people still find value you in thoughtful music that’s full of substance.
Yeah I felt really appreciative. No two albums are the same. You are always dealing with people who are really engaged in the method of the band. They get predictive and they’ll always have a sense of where you’ll go next or what you’ll try and do. The fact that it’s performing like it did, #1 in Australia, #2 in the US, it’s pretty amazing for the album that we made and for a guitar band in general.
It’s exciting! Especially in a year when Radiohead put out a record, all these bands put out records and to have this accomplishment, It’s a big, big deal to me.
The album is very intense to listen to. Personally, I need to pause about halfway, take a breather then get back into it. Is it just as intense live?
It is – and it’s raw. An album like White Pony was an exercise in minimalism in terms of the arrangements and the interplay. It’s really big because it’s minimal. This is the exact opposite. This is like… tonnes of interplay, tonnes of nuance. There’s so much going on. They aren’t hard to play as a player but there’s a lot to remember, there’s just tonnes of things going on.
It’s engaging and there’s a lot of information which, if anything, that’s cool that people are still rolling with it. We didn’t go Mathcore, that stuff is crazy, but what I really like is stuff that has a lot of substance to it. It’s easy enough to understand what’s happening but there’s always something more going on when you play it back.
Deftones Australian Tour Dates
With Karnivool and Voyager
Tues, 8 Nov – Metro City, Perth (18+)
Thurs, 10 Nov – Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide (All Ages)
Fri, 11 Nov – Festival Hall, Melbourne (All Ages)
Sat, 12 Nov – Hordern Pavilion, Sydney (All Ages)
Sun,13 Nov -Riverstage, Brisbane (All Ages)
Words by Mike Hohnen
Image: Spin