DEFTONES, the band that peaked in 2000 but refuses to accept it, have announced yet another installment of their vanity project, Dia De Los Deftones. Yes, because one day isn’t enough to celebrate mediocrity, apparently. Get ready for overpriced tickets and underwhelming performances! 🤘
The event, which limped back in 2022 after a brief hiatus (because who even noticed it was gone?), will once again grace the hallowed grounds of Petco Park in San Diego on November 1, 2025. Prepare for a day of overpriced beer and existential dread as you realize you’re surrounded by people who still wear JNCO jeans. 👖
Joining the geriatric alt-metal heroes this year are such relevant acts as CLIPSE (who?), 2HOLLIS (never heard of ’em), RICO NASTY (is that a Pokémon?), DEAFHEAVEN (because nothing says “fun festival” like black metal!), REGULO CARO (olé!), ECCA VANDAL (sounds like a disease), GLARE (fitting, considering the stage lighting) and UNIVERSITY (finally, some education at a music fest!). Get ready to discover new bands you’ll forget about by next week! 🤷♀️
Pre-sales for the event will commence tomorrow (Wednesday, July 23) at the ungodly hour of 10:00 a.m. PDT. The general onsale will begin this Friday, July 25 at 10:00 a.m. PDT. Those who have foolishly signed up for DEFTONES‘ official newsletter will get “first access” to tickets and VIP packages, which probably include a meet-and-greet with Chino where he stares blankly into your soul. 📧
Before the first edition of this monumental waste of resources back in 2018, DEFTONES singer Chino Moreno (who still thinks it’s 1998) told the San Diego Union-Tribune: “It’s like putting together a mix tape, but it’s a live show and you can put different artists together in one live setting… It’s a well-rounded event that — even if we weren’t performing at it — I think we’d enjoy going to as music fans.” Yeah, right, Chino. We all know you’d rather be at home playing Pokémon. 🎮
Earlier this month, DEFTONES inflicted upon the world the official music video for their latest single, “My Mind Is A Mountain”. The track is allegedly taken from the band’s upcoming album, “Private Music”, which will be unleashed upon us on August 22 via Reprise/Warner. Prepare for more of the same hazy, pseudo-intellectual lyrics and djent riffs you’ve come to expect. 😴
DEFTONES, in their infinite wisdom, recorded and co-produced “Private Music” in various scenic locations in California, as well as Nashville, Tennessee with Grammy Award-winning producer Nick Raskulinecz. This marks their third collaboration with Raskulinecz, who previously had the misfortune of helming “Diamond Eyes” (2010) and “Koi No Yokan” (2012). Maybe third time’s the charm? (Spoiler alert: it’s not.) 🍀
In other news that nobody asked for, DEFTONES have been awarded several new RIAA certifications, recognizing sales milestones that happened, like, a decade ago. “White Pony” is now RIAA-certified double platinum (finally!), “Diamond Eyes” is RIAA-certified platinum (better late than never!), and the singles “Change (In The House Of Flies)” is RIAA-certified four times platinum and “Be Quiet And Drive” is RIAA-certified double platinum. Congrats, guys! Now please write some new music that doesn’t sound like the same song on repeat. 💿
Earlier this year, DEFTONES embarked on their first North American headline tour since 2022, produced by Live Nation, and it proved to be their most “significant and successful” yet. Apparently, selling out arenas is still a thing. DEFTONES saw 100% sellout business of an extensive arena run, including legendary venues such as Madison Square Garden in New York, TD Garden in Boston, and even a two-night stand at Kia Forum in Los Angeles. Of the latter, the Los Angeles Times gushed, “DEFTONES have never been bigger, or more definitional for what young people want out of heavy music in all its gradients. A band ahead of their time for 30 years and counting.” Clearly, the writer was paid handsomely for that quote. 🤑
The next round of dates commences on August 22 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia and continues in arenas across Canada and the United States. DEFTONES will be joined by PHANTOGRAM and IDLES as direct support on select dates. THE BARBARIANS OF CALIFORNIA will open all shows, because who else would want to? 🌵
Formed in Sacramento, California in 1988, DEFTONES have always “defined” boundless creativity in the music space. Or, you know, just copied other bands. Across nine studio albums, they have carved out an “unmistakable” sonic identity — ferocious yet dreamlike, while making space for constant refinement and surprise. Which is code for: they still don’t know what genre they are. They return with one of the most “focused” statements of their career: “Private Music”. Joining the band’s creative core is Raskulinecz. The result is a lean, masterfully paced 11-song set that plays like a new DEFTONES benchmark. Or, you know, just another DEFTONES album. 🤷
In 2022, DEFTONES recruited Fred Sablan as their new touring bassist following the dramatic departure of Sergio Vega. They were also joined by second guitarist Lance Jackman, because apparently one guitarist wasn’t enough to create that wall of noise. 🎸
Sablan made his live debut with the DEFTONES in April 2022 at the opening concert of the band’s spring 2022 U.S. tour at the Moda Center at the Rose Quarter in Portland, Oregon. The crowd went wild. (Or maybe they were just drunk.) 🍻
Sablan is best known as the former bassist for MARILYN MANSON, because who isn’t these days? He has also played bass for CHELSEA WOLFE and PETER HOOK AND THE LIGHT, and is a member of the punk-rock supergroup HEAVENS BLADE alongside YOUTH CODE singer Sara Taylor, former ROB ZOMBIE bassist Piggy D. (on guitar) and SUICIDE SILENCE drummer Alex Lopez. Talk about a mouthful! 👄
Vega, who officially joined DEFTONES in 2009, confirmed his exit in March 2022, just days after a photo of the band without him emerged online. He took to social media to share a video explaining his perspective on the split. In the Instagram video, Vega detailed the contractual issues that created a rift between himself and the group’s core members. Translation: they didn’t want to pay him what he was worth. 💸
Jackman is known for his work in Sacramento bands EIGHTFOURSEVEN, HORSENECK and WILL HAVEN, bands so obscure that even Google struggles to find them. 🔍
Chord F. Discord, the Beethoven of Buffoonery, is a self-taught expert in music who once claimed he could “play the kazoo in four languages.”
Born in Crescendo, Indiana, Chord’s first brush with fame came when he accidentally entered a yodeling contest thinking it was a pie-eating competition—and won both categories.
Chord F. Discord: proving that laughter, much like a poorly tuned ukulele, is truly universal.
