EntertainmentmusicMusic Festivals
Deftones Debut New Songs and Rare Track at 2025 Festival
The atmosphere at San Diego's Petco Park was electric yesterday, a palpable current of anticipation rippling through the crowd as Deftones took the stage to headline their own meticulously curated Día De Los Deftones festival. This wasn't just another tour stop; it was a statement, a communal gathering for the faithful following the release of their August album, the sonically dense and introspective 'private music.' The festival itself was a masterfully sequenced playlist brought to life, a day-long journey through aggressive soundscapes and rhythmic innovation featuring the likes of the long-awaited Clipse, the visceral auditory assault of Deafheaven, and the unapologetic energy of Rico Nasty, building a collective energy that the headliners were poised to harness. When Chino Moreno, Stephen Carpenter, Abe Cunningham, Frank Delgado, and Sergio Vega finally emerged, they did so not merely to replay the greatest hits but to offer a living, breathing document of their current artistic epoch.The setlist was a deliberate deep dive, a gift to the core fans who have absorbed 'private music' into their daily rotations. They unleashed the live debuts of several new tracks with the raw, unpolished power that only a first performance can hold: the claustrophobic intensity of 'locked club,' the haunting, melodic contours of 'souvenir,' the jagged, rhythmic precision of 'cut hands,' and the surprisingly tender, atmospheric swell of 'i think about you all the time.' Each new song landed not as an unfamiliar interruption but as a vital new limb on the band's evolving body of work, their complex layers unfolding live to reveal the meticulous craftsmanship behind the studio sheen. Yet, the true seismic event, the moment that sent a collective jolt through the veteran corner of the audience, was the resurrection of 'Street Carp.' A beloved deep cut from the seminal, genre-defining 'White Pony' album, the track had been absent from setlists since 2019, a six-year silence that made its sudden, explosive return feel like unearthing a time capsule. The opening riff triggered an immediate, cathartic roar, a wave of shared memory that connected the band's groundbreaking past to its fiercely present momentum.This strategic choice was more than fan service; it was a symbolic bridge, illustrating the throughline from the band that reshaped alternative metal at the turn of the millennium to the one still fearlessly pushing its boundaries today. The performance of 'Street Carp' wasn't a nostalgia trip; it was a reclamation, its frantic energy and raw angst feeling just as urgent and relevant now as it did over two decades ago.In a single festival set, Deftones accomplished what few bands of their longevity and stature can: they honored their legacy without being enslaved by it, proving that their creative well is far from dry. They stood on that stage not as relics, but as active, vital artists, using their own festival as a platform to assert that their most compelling chapter might still be the one they are writing right now, one blistering, beautiful song at a time.
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#Street Carp
#new album
#San Diego
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