It’s been over three years since Deftones’ bassist Chi Cheng was in a serious car accident that left him in a coma. It’s been a long, difficult struggle for Chi and his family, but every little bit of news about an improvement in his condition, no matter how small, provides a much-needed boost of hope.

As shown in the following video posted on February 1st [via RoarRock], Chi is now able to move his leg when commanded:

A small step, sure, but still very encouraging. Chi is still otherwise unable to move or speak. More information, including how to donate to Chi’s medical care, is available at OneLoveForChi.com.

-VN

A dude could get used to the practice of semi-annually checking in with loud alternative rockers the Deftones. That’s the pattern at MetalSucks: Every other season, we pry into the personal and professional business of a band destined to be remembered as one of America’s all-time greatest (srs), the post-Cobain Faith No More and canonizer of real-head hall of fame acts like The Cardigans, Duran Duran, Suicidal Tendencies, and The Cure.

And the old Deftones — which, of course, were the young Deftones — seemed just as cocksure and drama-wracked as all those. However, this new, older Deftones is grooving smooth and hanging hard, said drummer Abe Cunningham in an epic gab with MS last week. (One never runs out of conversation topics with Deftones dudes.) Animated and way too modest, Cunningham talked me through even more Deftones details than I covered last time and last last time: The fun of recording awesome cover jams, their wake-up call when bassist Chi Cheng was seriously injured, his chemistry with Cheng’s replacement Sergio Vega and with singer Chino Moreno, their record deal then and now, and silly people like Helmet’s Page Hamilton and the big fat copycats in Shinedown.

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There remain some people who aren’t convinced that the Deftones are a special band, but if it’s possible to evaluate music subjectively, then few could argue that the post-alt metal quintet at least belongs on the ballot. For one thing, the Deftones Sound evolves (and occasionally just mutates), leading to a dynamic catalogue of resemblant but dissimilar albums. And like other rare, extra-interesting bands, Deftones elude classification and repeatedly outdo their, ahem, peers. Also, they have a killer drummer and an unobtrusive, artful guitarist (he’s so guitartful), a combo that ensures a ripping live show.

But what wows me about this band in 2010 is their handling of prolonged, agonizing tragedy. By shelving their near-completed sixth album, Eros, they seem to express a certainty of the day in the future where all of its authors will ably engage in its promotion and performance. For now, what guitarist Stephen Carpenter calls a whole “different Deftones” is enjoying a top-ten debut for the slim, slamming Diamond Eyes, a bonkers Fall tour with two other tweener juggernauts (Alice In Chains, Mastodon), and a healthy relationship with producer Nick Raskulinecz (Rush, Coheed And Cambria). Carpenter called back to Los Angeles from New York and spoke to Metal Sucks about both Deftones, weird talk radio, and the steamy night we shared in Milwaukee.

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Let there be no doubt that the Deftones guys have tons of interesting shit to discuss in interviews around their sixth (seventh, technically?) album, Diamond Eyes. I wonder how repetitive it will feel to them, continuously explaining what was like to record without Chi Cheng, their severely injured bass player whom everybody misses. And I bet more than a few journos will wonder why the release date of Diamond Eyes was pushed up from May 18 to May 4, as it was announced last week. Me, I gotta know if they, too, sing the album’s title to each other like the verses in “Smooth Operator.” Like for example, “Hey guys, let’s get back to work on the mastering of our new record Dia-mond Eyyyyyyy-yyyyyyes.“

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The shelved Deftones record Eros is going to make a collector’s item some day. For one it seems like it’ll never see the light of day which in and of itself would make it a hot commodity, but more importantly it very likely could end up being the last album bassist Chi Cheng played on before slipping into a coma following his car accident. And with each passing day it seems less likely Cheng will wake up. I’m not trying to be morose and I certainly wish him and his family well… I’m just saying. You know the files for Eros are on some A&R guy’s hard drive somewhere; hopefully one day they’ll see the light of day.

Diamond Eyes, the new record the Deftones have recorded in place of Eros, now has a release date (May 18th) and a new song to give fans a taste of what’s in store. “Rocket Skates” (of which we postage live footage from November’s Smokeout Festival) is available for free download today only at GunsRazorsKnives.com, although at the moment the site is spitting back error messages that “the code you entered is in use.” Thanks, fuckwads at Warner Bros.; you provided the code yourselves. Thankfully the song is posted on the Deftones’ YouTube page too which is actually a better deal ’cause you also get the lyrics. The song sounds like it’s got a White Pony type of vibe, which I like. And despite Chino Moreno’s claim that the lyrics on this album are less personal, it really seems like this song is about Chi Cheng. Have a listen for yourself.

-VN

It’s easy to be jaded after attending a billion or so live shows, but climbing the hill up to San Manuel Amphitheatre, the site of Cypress Hill’s MetalSucks co-sponsored SmokeOut festival, I was transformed into a gawking greenhorn. (I would soon be treated like one, as well.) Behind my rib cage,  calm battled with rising euphoria, and not only because I stood with a hefty joint in my shoe at the gates of a tri-county puff-athon on the nicest late-October Saturday ever; mostly, I was just tweaking to look in on a magnificent but savagely wounded band at this early stage of recovery. Yes, the SmokeOut would feature the Deftones, who have played around ten shows since an auto accident left their bassist, Chi Cheng, in a coma. And despite the puzzling news that to-be sixth album Eros had been shelved, the band already had been showing positive signs and seemed poised to reintroduce themselves via a violent new song (“Rocket Skates”) and a spritely, newly-slimmed singer (the gossip had Chino Moreno at anywhere between twenty and eighty pounds lighter). Exciting!

Two hours later, right before the Deftones took the stage, night had fallen, the denizens of the cheap seats waded ankle-deep in litter, and I was pissed off as shit.

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Altitude TV [via Blabbermouth] has posted some footage of Deftones performing a new song called “Rocket Skates” at the MetalSucks co-sponsored Smokeout Festival a couple of weekends back. It’s pretty fuckin’ heavy and, not surprisingly, it’s a step forward for a band that’s always sought to push musical boundaries (though it still sounds distinctly Deftones). I mean it’s not as if the Deftones have suddenly gone prog, but… you get the point… as far as Deftones songs go, this one doesn’t sound like the band is trying to re-live or re-create the past so much as take the next step.

For those wondering, I believe that’s Quicksand bassist Sergio Vega stepping in for the still-ailing Chi Cheng. And hey doesn’t Chino look like he’s in awesome shape? For reasons that aren’t entirely clear, Deftones have shelved their completed but unreleased album Eros and are said to be working on something else. It’s never easy for those guys to release a record, is it?

-VN

Over the weekend we got a couple of emails about a benefit project for ailing Deftones bassist Chi Cheng, helmed by Korn bassist Fieldy Arvizu. Fieldy has recorded a song with a star-studded cast of characters to help raise money for Cheng, whose medical costs continue piling up as he enters year two (!!!) of his coma induced by a car accident. The song, simply called “A Song For Chi,” is available for free download — although donations of any amount at all are encouraged — features members of Machine Head, Metallica, Killswitch Engage, Slipknot, Sevendust and a whole bunch of others.

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According to an article on The Gauntlet published Wednesday [sent in by MS Maniac Adam W.], Deftones’ bassist Chi Cheng — who has been in a coma since November following a horrifying car crash — is now out of the Intensive Care Unit, is breathing on his own, and his condition has improved dramatically. A follow-up post on the site One Love For Chi clarifies the information in the Gauntlet report; apparently Chi is still in a sort of semi-coma, able to breath on his own, track with his eyes, and say a few words, but is by no means completely “awake.”

Regardless, this is great news. We wish Chi and his family the best.

-VN