The Deftones' new album is entitled Diamond Eyes, and it's set to be unleashed upon the world on May 18th. "Rocket Skates" is the first single, which the band are graciously giving away for free on their MySpace.
The song, which I was lucky enough to witness the band open their set with at last year's Cypress Hill Smokeout, sounds like a supercharged outtake from the White Pony sessions, which any diehard fan will tell you is definitely cause for celebration.
In a recent interview with Spin, frontman Chino Moreno confirmed that the long-awaited sixth album from the Deftones is coming this May.
It's been a long, hard journey for the band, whose low-end legs were cut out from under them two years ago. In late 2008, as the group wrapped sessions on what was then slated to be their next release, Eros, bassist Chi Cheng was critically injured in a car crash, leaving him in a semi-conscious state (he remains in a Northern California hospital today). Last June, after more than six months in limbo, the Deftones shelved Eros - which had become a constant reminder of Cheng's absence - and started over.
"With everything we were going through, the Deftones needed to pour all of our thoughts, energy, and emotions into something new… something more optimistic," Moreno told SPIN.com from his home in Los Angeles. "I couldn't tour behind a record with all these memories of Chi attached to it."
The band has since hired former Quicksand bassist Sergio Vega. For the forthcoming album, they started from scratch, writing from jams in a rehearsal room, a different approach from the one taken on the band’s previous albums. Chino told Spin that he is singing less about himself than he has in the past, focusing more on “visual images and no story telling.”
Moreno also confirmed the existence of a new side project with our buddy Shaun Lopez from Far, featuring guest vocals from Annie Hardy from Giant Drag. That project is entitled The Holy Ghost, and we're definitely tuned in for that one.
In the meantime, enjoy some free Deftones!
