JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
The alternative metal band Deftones first got together around 1988, teenage friends jamming in a garage in Sacramento, California. Now, nearly four decades later, they're out with their tenth full-length studio album. It's called "Private Music."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "INFINITE SOURCE")
DEFTONES: (Singing) Just say you're down, and pull me close, hold on to me.
SUMMERS: That song is called "Infinite Source," and lead singer Chino Moreno says, it speaks to this being somewhat of a career defining moment for the band.
CHINO MORENO: The lyric content sort of is like a reflection of the past and what we've done, and I think it's the only song that really kind of done that. And the lyrics are sort of a nod to all the times and the years we spent doing this and our love for it.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "INFINITE SOURCE")
DEFTONES: (Singing) Last time adorning the stage, with love we've chased and found.
SUMMERS: Throughout their career, Deftones have consciously stretched beyond the metal genre, with a list of influences as diverse as hip-hop, The Cure and Sade. This new album, "Private Music" - it's no exception. Take the track "ecdysis."
(SOUNDBITE OF DEFTONE SONG, "ECDYSIS")
MORENO: It starts off with these synthesizers, this arpeggiating synthesizer, almost, like, in lieu of Depeche Mode-y type (ph) of vibes. You know, then the guitar riff comes in, and it's almost like, old Sepultura, even Gojira - like, different sort of, like - you know, the metal influences.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ECDYSIS")
DEFTONES: (Singing) Can we sit here, silent, just hoping to survive herein?
MORENO: And it wasn't done consciously. It's just, like, put together like bricks, you know, or like Legos even, where, you know, we were able to just, like, throw these random pieces together and make something cohesive out of it, which was really fun to do.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ECDYSIS")
DEFTONES: (Singing) A symbol of our plague shakes our bones awake.
SUMMERS: It sounds like it's really something special when all of you are able to get into the same room and engage and sort of be on the same page at the same time about music. And I think it sounds like something that could be really challenging to do, particularly when we're talking about people who live all over the place, people who have been creating decades of music together. What is it like when you are in that space together, when you're able to get back there physically?
MORENO: Yeah, I mean, it's funny because when we first started talking about making a record, we said, all right, let's make a Dropbox folder. So the first time we get together, it's like, our instinct was, OK, let's sift through the folder. What do you guys want to work on? And it was like, you know, we'd pick a couple of things we'd work on for a minute.
But it was like, now in retrospect, nothing from those folders - was probably like 40 different ideas - and it's not like there weren't good ideas in there. But it was, like, there's so much more special when it's, like, capturing the moment of us in the room at the same time, someone sparking an idea because that's where they are in that moment, and then the other members gravitating towards it. You know what I'm saying? - if that made any sense.
SUMMERS: No, that does make sense, yeah. How do you get your energy? How do you recharge?
MORENO: Man, I think in this stage of our career and our lives in general, I think that, like, we've learned a better version of life-work balance. We've learned the hard way of burning ourselves out, and we've learned a good work ethic of not touring over 30 days, usually. A month is usually, like, the longest we'll tour before we go home and doing that 100%. You know what I mean? Like, when we're home, it's like, watching TV shows and having cooking and eating at home and taking the dogs for a walk. Like, all that stuff is, like, a great balance so then we get back out here and can focus.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I THINK ABOUT YOU ALL THE TIME")
DEFTONES: (singing) All of my life, we'll never change. All of our days, show me the way. On a wave...
SUMMERS: I understand that in the last few years you've also quit drinking. Has that changed the way you make music or the way that you perform?
MORENO: Yeah, I mean, I didn't know how it was going to work, honestly. I lived most of my adult life and, you know, actually, all of my touring life of just, like, that being a part of just kind of what we do - you know what I mean? - from having a few beers before we go on stage to loosen up and the afterparty and all that stuff was - always been such, like, a thing. I didn't really know life without it, and I never honestly really tried to not drink.
But I think it became, like, just unhealthy, like, physically, mentally. And so I just decided, I want to try and see what life is like without it. And after, like, 30 days, I was just like, wow. I just had all this clarity with sleeping better and all this stuff that I was like, why go back to it?
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I THINK ABOUT YOU ALL THE TIME")
DEFTONES: (Singing) Cross the shallows, I keep my balance. Hold my diamond, warms me inside. Cross the shallows...
MORENO: Creatively, that was scary because it was, like, when it's time to start writing and to do whatever, like, well, I've never done it, you know, this way, so how will it be? But, honestly, it was like - that clarity and having that focus reigned over, like, any other record-making process - you know what I mean? - of - that I've had. And it made it so much more enjoyable, as well. So it's just great to kind of - you know, to be where I'm at in this moment for that reason.
(SOUNDBITE OF DEFTONES SONG, "MY MIND IS A MOUNTAIN")
SUMMERS: I wonder, is there a song that you feel like illustrates the sort of newfound clarity that you found?
MORENO: I'd just say, overall, you know, the album - I think that the songs themselves - like, the fact that they're like - for the most part, the running time on all the songs sit around, like between 3 and 4 minutes. There's, like, these concise moments that there's not so much meandering. You know what I mean? I think there is experimentation within the format of each song.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MY MIND IS A MOUNTAIN")
DEFTONES: (Singing) Is drenched through.
MORENO: I just really feel like they're concise, and they're kind of to the point. It's a cohesive piece of work, but it has variety in there. And I think we knew we had a record when all those elements were sort of present.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MY MIND IS A MOUNTAIN")
DEFTONES: (Singing) Been caught in our radar.
SUMMERS: I think one of the things that's sort of remarkable is watching the band reach this new generation of fans, some of whom are finding you on TikTok. I know that "Cherry Waves" went viral on the app a few years back. And now there's all these young people who will be exposed to Deftones through this new album, too. And I wonder, is there something that you hope that those fans specifically take away, who maybe didn't grow up with your music but who are going to be getting their introduction now?
MORENO: I think they're already doing it. I mean, the fact that, you know, some of these songs were written before they were born, and there's something in what they're hearing that they're connecting with.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SOUVENIR")
DEFTONES: (Singing) We're hurtling through space.
MORENO: When I go out there and we're performing, and I'm seeing, like, fathers and daughters bonding and having this bonding moment of being at our show together, that's an awesome thing. You know what I mean? And I - you know, I can't explain it, but I do appreciate it and don't take it for granted.
SUMMERS: Chino Moreno is the lead vocalist of Deftones. Thank you so much.
MORENO: Thank you so much.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SOUVENIR")
DEFTONES: (Singing) We gaze at the night. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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