After weeks of whispers and missed appearances (cough Glasto), Deftones are finally starting to show their hand — and it looks like new music is about to drop.
The alt-metal pioneers lit up the screens during their recent London headline show with a cryptic projection reading: “Private Music. X.VII.MMXXV. Distributed by Deftones. All rights reserved.” For anyone not fluent in Roman numerals — that’s July 10, 2025. This Thursday.
The tease didn’t stop there. Deftones have now posted two eerie stills to Instagram, seemingly ripped from a music video. One reads, “Negative space in cycles caught on our radar,” while the other adds, “We’ve been waiting here patiently locked in this state clocking our time.” If that doesn’t scream new single, what does?
The vibe is moody and blatantly monolithic. Really, it’s classic Deftones.
Also worth noting: those stills appear to show Fred Sablan, suggesting he’s now officially stepped in to fill the void left by Sergio Vega, who exited in 2022. Sablan has already proved himself on the road — locking him in makes sense if the band are shifting into album mode.
And they are. Or at least, that’s the rumour. Chino Moreno has been drip-feeding us updates for months now, most recently confirming that the band has “a whole record recorded all musically” with vocal work in the final stages. He’s not rushing it, he says — and fair enough. The bar after Ohms and Koi No Yokan is sky high.
Guitarist Stephen Carpenter has said the new material feels like a continuation of that sonic lineage, and behind the desk this time is reportedly Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Alice In Chains). No pressure.
Deftones were meant to hit Glasto’s Other Stage last month, but pulled out last minute due to illness. That sucked, obviously. But this feels like redemption on the horizon. New Deftones music. This week. Possibly Thursday.
It’s been five long years. So let’s just wait and see what they’ve been building in the shadows.
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