You can cut through Deftones\u2019 discography like a tree stump and count the rings of 90s genres. Alt-rock, grunge, stoner metal, indie-rock, pop-punk, shoegaze, emo: they\u2019re all there. However, they were also very much progenitors of what came next \u2013 where metal went, and where it arguably has been ever since.<\/p>\n
These progenitors brought metal back to the stadiums, made metal gigs a circus-like, theatrical event again; eschewed understated aesthetics but kept the impact. Sad, angsty anthems played with big, heavy, full guitar sounds. It\u2019s no wonder then, that Deftones seem so at home in front of a sold-out arena crowd, drowned out by their own lyrics; hidden by a dazzling light show, running up stage fittings and climbing on the monitors. The arena has always been their home.<\/p>\n
In true showman form, the band played solidly for two hours, never stopping for breath, and with vocalist Chino Moreno sweating through shirt after shirt as he leapt up a staircase to be illuminated by a burning orange sun projected behind the drums, just as the chorus riff exploded back to the delight of the crowd.<\/p>\n Across a sea of heads from my viewpoint near the back, crowdsurfers bobbed along the horizon and were deposited at the band\u2019s feet as offerings. The band themselves worked tirelessly through a huge setlist of tracks, which spanned the breadth of their career, including cuts from last year\u2019s Private Music<\/em><\/a>, celebrated as reminiscent of the band\u2019s prime. Still: standing there among heaving bodies, hearing that timeless metal sound, deaf among a sea of fans attempting to be louder than an industrial PA, you\u2019d be forgiven for thinking that, here today, perhaps this<\/em> is the band at their prime.<\/p>\n The lasting appeal of this group is tangible. This show loomed over Cardiff and its thriving metal scene like a big black cloud \u2013 which evidently burst as the evening rolled round, soaking through the hordes of undeterred goth visitors to the city. Deftones belong to a prestigious group of metal acts who\u2019ve enjoyed brand new, TikTok-spurred success, which often turn gigs from older metal bands into a hard split between battle-hardened beer-swilling dads who saw the band on tour 30 years ago, and shiny new neo-goths taking full advantage of a 14+ entry. I was pleasantly surprised to find the show had one of the smoothest age gradients I\u2019d ever seen, with folks of all ages showing up, laughing, and singing together.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a testament to the wide appeal of the band, to a sound which still feels fresh, to their own presence in the DNA of more recent, nichebusting metal bands. To be around such dedicated fans, shouting themselves hoarse to a lyric from a song which they may remember from 30 years ago or three months, and love all the same is unifying \u2013 which can\u2019t always be said when a band has members in their fifties. Deftones are still well worth their sell-out arena crowds, and still sound like they belong with their name on the big tent.<\/p>\n![\"Deftones](\"https:\/\/assets.buzzmag.co.uk\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Deftones-credit-Clemente-Ruiz-2-1024x683.jpg\")
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