The Deftones

The last couple of years have been a trying time for the Deftones. Whilst American metal generally has seen a resurgence, the Sacramento fivesome have had to deal with souring inter-band relations which led to a less than stellar album in Saturday Night Wrist. Then, thinking they had started to overcome these issues, bassist Chi Cheng is involved in a car accident leaving him in a coma for months. This directly led to canning the recently recorded 'Eros’ album. The band however sought to carry on, and enlisted former-Quicksand bassist Sergio Vega to help record the new critically acclaimed (and rightfully so – it’s awesome, buy it!) 'Diamond Eyes’. And this leads to tonight.

A 'secret’ MTV show at a tiny London venue is the PERFECT way to showcase a new album. Album highlights 'Rocket Skates’ and 'Diamond Eyes’ kick off the night in perfect fashion. The crowd (around 800 people crammed into a tiny space) go absolutely nuts, the new tracks being treated like old classics, with a large percentage of the crowd singing every word in time with vocalist Chino Moreno. Then the band crack out some old classics off of 'White Pony’, the highlights being 'Knife Party’ followed straight away by 'Passenger’. Even the absence of guest vocalist Maynard James Keenan of Tool doesn’t take away from this amazing song, Chino himself more than ably filling in, along with the masses down on the floor.

Other set highlights included a particularly brutal 'Minerva’ from the hugely underrated eponymous fourth album, and anything from 'Around the Fur’, including 'Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)’, 'Around the Fur’ and a huge sounding 'My Own Summer (Shove It)’. There were bodies flying everywhere, circle pits opening up around the very small floor and just when you thought it was safe to venture back to the front, the 'Tones encored with two slices of old school goodness from their debut, 'Adrenaline’. 'Root’ is simply immense, and '7 Words’ is a perfect way to end an awesome gig.

Whilst the music was absolutely astounding, there are two other things worth mentioning. Firstly, ULU should be used for metal gigs more often; the sound was so crisp and clear. Secondly, having seen the band several times previously, it was a real pleasure to realise that in fact they were truly enjoying being up onstage together. Chino had a smile on his face all night, as did new bassist Sergio. Guitarist Stephen Carpenter may even have been hiding a goofy grin behind the mop on his head.

All in all, a triumphant return to the capital by one of the most important and influential metal bands of the last 20 years. Here’s hoping there will be a full tour in the not too distant future!