Chino Moreno recently discussed how Deftones managed to transcend generations by deliberately avoiding the conventional path taken by their contemporaries. He shared his insights in an interview with World Cafe.
The Deftones frontman explained the band’s conscious strategy to maintain their unique identity and avoid being confined to the nü-metal genre that dominated the late 1990s and early 2000s.
“I think the conscious effort that we made to just not do the same thing that our contemporaries were doing, or just, or to even tour with our contemporaries as much as it was expected,” Moreno said. “So we always try to do things a little left of center, from the types of records that we started making — especially around the 2000s when we did ‘White Pony’, I think that was when we really started our kind of departure of just being fit into a box.”
Moreno emphasized that this approach wasn’t about superiority, but rather about maintaining artistic independence.
“I never wanted it to seem like we were like, ‘Oh, we’re better than them’, or anything like that,” he continued. “I just felt like I just don’t want to be… if someone else does something, I don’t want that to affect us, right? I always felt like I just want to stand on our own two feet in some way, the most we can, right?”
The vocalist reflected on how these early decisions allowed the band to continuously evolve beyond their initial classification.
“So the best way of doing that is to try to just continue to have our own identity apart from what was then nü-metal, and I guess still is now to this day, right?” Moreno explained. “And although we… I think we will forever be associated with it. Which is fine. I think because we’ve made those conscious decisions back then, I think it allowed us to always just expand, you know from that.”
This strategic approach to artistic independence has proven remarkably successful for the band. Their evolution is clearly visible throughout their discography and recent achievements.
The pivotal album Moreno referenced, White Pony, marked a significant turning point in the band’s career. Wikipedia reported that their 2000 release earned them a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance with the track “Elite.” This validated their experimental direction and departure from conventional nü-metal sounds.
The band’s unique approach was evident from their very beginning. SPIN Magazine noted that their debut album Adrenaline (1995) was the first metal album released on Madonna’s Maverick label. It drew influences from unexpected sources including Depeche Mode, The Cure, and Cocteau Twins, setting them apart from their contemporaries early in their career.
This commitment to artistic evolution continues to pay dividends for the band decades later. X107.5 Las Vegas revealed that Deftones recently earned a Grammy nomination for their latest album Private Music (2025). The album topped rock charts and was notably recorded with a sober Moreno, representing another chapter in their ongoing artistic journey.
The band’s resurgence in recent years demonstrates the lasting impact of their early decision to forge their own path. SPIN Magazine highlighted that Deftones’ renewed popularity has been bolstered by a revival of interest in nü-metal. Early 2000s tracks like “Cherry Waves,” “Hole in the Earth,” and other deep cuts are finding new audiences and validating their prescient artistic choices.
