Deftones Reveal Release Date for New Album

BY Jason SchreursPublished Dec 18, 2009

Deftones have announced the release of their new album mere months after shelving their nearly completed Eros album project, according to an interview with Noise Creep. The yet-to-be-named new record will see release on April 27, only 17 months after bass player Chi Cheng received life-threatening injuries in a car accident that left him in a coma.

As we previously told you, the band decided to scrap recordings that were done with Cheng before his accident in favour of a "new direction." That direction, which will be revealed when the new album hits, includes fill-in bass player Sergio Vega (ex-Quicksand) and has resulted in a heavier, more direct record, according to the band.

"I honestly think it's one of the best, if not the best records we've ever done," singer Chino Moreno told Noise Creep. "My favourite record is Around the Fur. It was written and recorded in four months, which was the fastest, easiest and funnest record we've ever made. This record totally has that feel to it."

The new album is the California band's sixth studio release and the follow-up to 2006's Saturday Night Wrist. Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Alice in Chains, Shadows Fall) is at the production helm. It's unknown whether the Eros sessions will ever be released, and whether they're contingent upon the return of Cheng.

Meanwhile, over $82,000 has been raised on Cheng's behalf through the One Love for Chi website and a series of benefit shows that included members of Metallica, the Dillinger Escape Plan, Slayer, System of a Down, and Suicidal Tendencies, among others. A charity auction with donated items from some of the same heavy rock heavies also raised a significant chunk of change.

"It meant a lot to have people, friends of Chi and ours, and people who have been a part of our lives over the years, there to help him out," Moreno said. "This benefit seems like a celebration in a way. These people were coming together and saying, 'Look, we're gonna do the best that we can to make a positive situation out of this thing.'"

The band hopes Cheng will someday make a full recovery and return to the band, but in the meantime Vega is a more-than-capable replacement, as anyone who saw the band on their recent opening stint with Slipknot will attest.

Cheng was released from intensive care in May and is now being cared for at home in a "minimally conscious" state.

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