Deftones formed in Sacramento, California, in 1988, around three teenagers: Chino Moreno on vocals, Stephen Carpenter on guitar and Abe Cunningham on drums . Bassist Chi Cheng joined in 1990 , and the classic lineup was rounded out in 1999 when keyboardist and turntablist Frank Delgado, who would become an official member in 1999 , came aboard. After five years of grinding California club shows the band signed to Maverick Records, the Madonna-co-owned Warner imprint, on the strength of a demo and a relentless live reputation. Their early sound fused metal aggression with a moodier, more melodic sensibility, setting them apart from many of their peers in the burgeoning alternative metal scene of the era.
The band's true breakthrough came with their second album. Around the Fur in October 1997 was the breakthrough; My Own Summer (Shove It) became a top-ten Mainstream Rock single, the album shipped Gold within months and went Platinum the following year . Three years later, Deftones released their landmark third record, White Pony, on June 20, 2000, which debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200 with first-week US sales of roughly 178,000 copies, peaked in the top 20 of the UK Albums Chart, and won the band their first Grammy when Elite took home Best Metal Performance. The album pushed the band's sound into more experimental, atmospheric territory, and its single "Change (In the House of Flies)" became one of their signature songs. The classic lineup, Chino Moreno, Stephen Carpenter, Abe Cunningham, Chi Cheng, and Frank Delgado, remained the creative core of the band through this defining era.
In the years that followed, Deftones continued to evolve while weathering significant hardship. In 2008, bassist Chi Cheng was severely injured in a car accident while the band worked on new material, and Sergio Vega stepped in as touring and recording bassist; Cheng passed away in 2013, a loss that deeply marked the band's history. Despite this, Deftones pressed on, releasing Diamond Eyes in 2010, Koi No Yokan in 2012, Gore in 2016, and Ohms in 2020, with the RIAA Platinum-certified Diamond Eyes (2010), Koi No Yokan (2012), and Ohms (2020), the latter marking their fourth Top 5 debut on the Billboard 200 . Along the way the band added a second Grammy, winning Best Rock Performance with Ohms in 2022 , and their catalog has produced notable collaborations, including "Passenger" with Tool's Maynard James Keenan. They have also curated their own annual festival, Dia De Los Deftones, an immersive full-day festival experience of music and culture curated and headlined by the band at San Diego's Petco Park for six iterations so far .
Deftones remain very much active today. In 2025 they released their tenth studio album, Private Music, which topped rock charts globally and entered the Top 5 of the Billboard 200 , earning the band a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Album. Their arena tours in support of the record have been massive successes, with 100% sellout business of an extensive arena run, including legendary venues such as Madison Square Garden in New York, TD Garden in Boston, and even a two-night stand at Kia Forum in Los Angeles . Over nearly four decades the band has sold over 10 million records and amassed billions of streams, and they are widely regarded as one of the most influential and enduring acts to emerge from the alternative metal and nu-metal era, having shaped generations of heavier, more atmospheric rock music that followed them.
It is fitting that Deftones hold a place in this archive. Wayne Dennon photographed the band on three separate occasions between 2004 and 2010, capturing them across three different cities during a stretch that spanned the release of their self-titled album through the aftermath of Chi Cheng's accident and the arrival of Diamond Eyes. The 71 photographs from those nights remain among the most visited in the collection, viewed 55,534 times by fans returning again and again to relive the raw intensity Wayne captured onstage, a testament both to the band's lasting power and to the enduring value of his work behind the lens.
