‘Lost’ Deftones album Eros might never be released, Chino Moreno admits

By Paul Brannigan
( Metal Hammer )
published

Deftones’ final recordings with late bassist Chi Cheng might never see the light of day, says Chino Moreno

(Image credit: Patrick Ford/Redferns)

Deftones frontman Chino Moreno says that Eros, the Sacramento band’s shelved follow-up to 2006’s Saturday Night Wrist, might never be released as it’s too “emotionally heavy” for the group to revisit.

Deftones put the album on ice after a horrific November 2008 car accident left bassist Chi Cheng in a coma, from which he would never recover. On April 13, 2014, the first anniversary of Cheng’s death, Deftones released one song from the session, Smile, which was swiftly removed from YouTube by their label: no other tracks recorded for Eros have surfaced. The band ultimately followed up Saturday Night Wrist with 2010’s Diamond Eyes, which featured Quicksand man Sergio Vega on bass.

Speaking to Uproxx, Chino Moreno states, “I’m not really quite sure (if Eros will ever come out). It would take basically going in and finishing it. Any time we get together we’re always sort of looking forward, or creating something in the moment. So that would be more of a nostalgic kind of thing there. To open up those files would probably be heavy too. Emotionally heavy. Just because it’s the last thing that Chi played on. Not saying that we won’t do it, but we haven’t made any plans any time in the near future to do so.”

Deftones will release their new album, Ohms, on September 25 via Warners. The title track is out now.

Deftones - Ohms [Official Music Video] - YouTube
Watch On
Paul Brannigan
Paul Brannigan
Contributing Editor, Louder

A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne's private jet, played Angus Young's Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.