Deftones’ Stephen Carpenter loves the Gore song he first hated

Deftones guitarist Stephen Carpenter has revealed the song that inspired his negative feelings about eighth album Gore is now the one he likes most in the set.

And he says he’s not the first member of the band to have felt bad about a recording project while it was underway.

Carpenter recently moved to shut down rumours of a fall-out after having said he originally didn’t want to play on Gore, followed by frontman Chino Moreno describing the guitarist as “the odd man out” during sessions.

Carpenter tells Kerrang: “I went eight records before I had any kind of issue. I’ve already lived through two records in the past where somebody else didn’t enjoy them at all.

“For me to finally hit a wall, I think I lasted pretty good, because I’ve seen other people already buckle.”

He adds: “When I gave the interview, I was just saying that, in the beginning, I wasn’t too inspired by what was going on. The emotions tied to that statement was really all around one song called Hearts/Wires.

“Once I got over my BS about it and dug into it, I found a place in it where I like it and have fun. It ended up one I liked the most.”

Moreno says: “People are saying, ‘Are you mad about what Stef said?’ Fuck, no – that’s Stephen. I understand when he says stuff like that people are going to react in a certain way. But Stephen didn’t say it to make people react. He was just being Stephen.”

The frontman says the entire band feel “fulfilled” by Gore, and continues: “We played the new songs a couple of days ago and I watched him light up with excitement the same way I was, realising how dope some of this shit was.”

The record is released on April 8. Deftones are currently touring North America before returning to Europe in June. They play London’s SSE Arena Wembley on June 3 and at this year’s Download festival at Donington on June 11.

Deftones Gore tracklist

  1. Prayers/Triangles
  2. Acid Hologram
  3. Doomed User
  4. Geometric Headdress
  5. Hearts/Wires
  6. Pittura Infamante
  7. Xenon
  8. (L)mirl
  9. Gore
  10. Phantom Bride
  11. Rubicon

Deftones 2016 tour dates

Mar 24: Lubbock Lonestar Pavilion, TX
May 08: Kannapolis Carolina Rebellion, NC
May 15: Atlanta Shaky Knees Festoval, GA
May 21: Maryland Heights Pointfest, MO
Jun 03: London SSE Arena Wembley, UK
Jun 04: Mendig Rock AM Ring, Germany
Jun 05: Nurnberg Rock Im Park, Germany
Jun 07: Milan Trezzo Sull’Adda Live Club, Italy
Jun 10: Paris Download, France
Jun 11: Donington Download, UK
Jun 12: Nickelsdorf Nova Rock, Austria
Jun 14: Cologne Palladium, Germany
Jun 15: Berlin Columbiahalle, Germany
Jun 17: Aarhus NorthSide Festival, Denmark
Jun 18: Reykjavik Secret Solstice, Iceland

Deftones went out of comfort zone for Gore

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Not only is one-time online news editor Martin an established rock journalist and drummer, but he’s also penned several books on music history, including SAHB Story: The Tale of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a band he once managed, and the best-selling Apollo Memories about the history of the legendary and infamous Glasgow Apollo. Martin has written for Classic Rock and Prog and at one time had written more articles for Louder than anyone else (we think he's second now). He’s appeared on TV and when not delving intro all things music, can be found travelling along the UK’s vast canal network.