Early years (1988–1993)

When Stephen Carpenter was 15 years old, he was hit by a car while skateboarding. Confined to a wheelchair for several months, he began teaching himself guitar by playing along to songs by thrash metal bands such as Anthrax, Stormtroopers of Death, and Metallica. A long-circulated myth alleged that the driver paid Carpenter a cash settlement that allowed the band to purchase equipment, but Abe Cunningham commented in a 2007 interview that the story about the settlement was false. Carpenter, Cunningham and Chino Moreno were childhood friends. All three went to C. K. McClatchy High School in Sacramento and remained friends through the city's skateboarding scene. Carpenter was a fan of heavy metal, and Moreno was interested in hardcore punk bands such as Bad Brains and post-punk and new wave bands such as Depeche Mode and the Cure. When Moreno found out that Carpenter played guitar, he set up a jam session with Cunningham, who played drums, and the three began playing regularly in Carpenter's garage around 1988. They recruited bassist Dominic Garcia some time after, and the band became a four-piece. When Cunningham left Deftones to join Phallucy, another band from Sacramento, Garcia switched to drums.

Adrenaline (1994–1996)

The band's debut album, Adrenaline, was recorded at Bad Animals Studio in Seattle, Washington and released on October 3, 1995. It was produced by Deftones and Terry Date, who would go on to produce the band's next three albums. While they were initially commercially unsuccessful, the band built a dedicated fan base through extensive touring, word-of-mouth and Internet promotion. Through their efforts, Adrenaline went on to sell over 220,000 copies. It is regarded as an important part of the 1990s nu metal movement.

In 1978 Tim left Plessey to join D.G Nash Ltd (Ferndown, Dorset, UK), where he wrote among other things typesetting software for intelligent printers, and a multitasking operating system.

Around the Fur (1997–1999)

Deftones' second album, Around the Fur, was recorded at Studio Litho in Seattle, Washington and produced by Date. Released on October 28, 1997, the album was dedicated to Dana Wells, the late stepson of the singer Max Cavalera of Sepultura, Soulfly and Cavalera Conspiracy. Cavalera also collaborated on "Headup", a tribute to Wells.[24] Although not yet a member of the band, Delgado was credited as "audio" on five of the album's tracks. Cunningham's wife, Annalynn, provided guest vocals on "MX" "When we went in to make this record, we really didn't have a set idea of what we wanted to come out with", said Moreno in a 1998 interview with Chart magazine. However, he felt that the album "fell into place" once the band had settled into the studio. The band expanded its sound, spending more time with Date and giving more thought to the album's production. Cunningham varied his drum sound and experimented by using different types of snare drum on almost every track.

White Pony (2000–2002)

On June 20, 2000, the band released their third album, White Pony, again produced by Date and Deftones. It was recorded at the Record Plant studio in Sausalito, California, and at Larrabee Sound Studios, West Hollywood, California. The album debuted at No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard chart with sales of 178,000 copies. Delgado, now a full-time band member, added new elements to the band's music. The melancholy "Teenager", for example, was a departure in style and mood, a "love song", according to Moreno. Programming duties were carried out by DJ Crook, a friend of Moreno (and bandmate in his side project Team Sleep). "Passenger" was a collaboration with singer Maynard James Keenan of Tool, and the refrain in "Knife Prty" featured vocals by Rodleen Getsic. Moreno also started contributing additional guitar work.

Deftones (2002–2005)

Deftones began work on their fourth album under the working title Lovers.Regarding the album's direction, Cheng commented, "We've proven that we can musically go in any direction we want, and we want to get kind of heavy on this one".[42] Moreno underwent vocal training as a precaution after severely damaging his vocal cords on the band's 2001 summer tour. The band converted their rehearsal space in Sacramento into a fully equipped studio and recorded most of the album there at negligible cost. The band brought in Date to assist with production and also received input on musical arrangement from Greg Wells on several of the album's tracks

Saturday Night Wrist (2006–2007)

Rather than work with Date, their producer for many years, Deftones decided to record with Bob Ezrin on their fifth studio album. Cunningham said that while the group enjoyed working with Date, "at this point, we just needed to change things up [...] And this is definitely a different style. Working with him [Ezrin] is just putting us fucking upside down. He's cracking the whip". After recording all the instrumental parts for the record, Moreno decided to record his vocals separately, and finished recording the album with former Far guitarist Shaun Lopez as producer. According to an interview with Abe Cunningham, there were tensions involved with the recording of Saturday Night Wrist that were related to the band members' personal lives. Cunningham compared the process to pulling teeth.

Diamond Eyes (2010–2011)

Deftones' sixth album, Diamond Eyes, was originally scheduled for release on April 27, 2010; this date was later pushed back to May 18. In March, it was announced that the album had leaked onto the Internet, and the album's release date was moved forward to May 4 as a result. On February 23, 2010, the album's first single, "Rocket Skates", was made available for free download at www.gunsrazorsknives.com. The album was produced by Nick Raskulinecz. In contrast to Eros' dark and aggressive nature, the band took a more optimistic approach both lyrically and sonically on Diamond Eyes.

Koi No Yokan and Cheng's death (2012–2013)

On March 29, 2012, Carpenter revealed that the band were working on a new record in an interview posted on ESP Guitars's YouTube channel.[79] It was reported that Raskulinecz would return to produce their as-yet-unnamed seventh studio album.[80] It was also reported that the band would be recording several B-sides for the album, including an Elvis Presley cover and possibly an Earth, Wind, and Fire cover.[81] It was later announced that there would be no bonus tracks.

Gore (2014–2017)

In March 2014, while Moreno was touring with his side project Crosses, in support of their self-titled debut album, the rest of Deftones began writing a follow-up to Koi No Yokan.[90] Deftones also previously reported that they intended to record a new album either in late 2014 or early 2015.[91] On April 13, 2014, the first anniversary of Cheng's death, Deftones released a track from Eros titled "Smile" on YouTube,[92] the first officially released material from the long-shelved album. The video was removed by Warner Music Group two days later due to copyright infringement, despite the track having been uploaded by Moreno.