Tubing to Wembley on a Friday evening can feel like you’re heading in the opposite direction to every living soul in London. That’s until you meet the hoards of black-hoodied metal fans marching towards the looming arch of Wembley to see Sacramento’s finest, Deftones.
Tonight’s gig was rescheduled as the band were due to play at the Bataclan the night after the tragic attacks in November. In the interim period, however, the band have finally released their long-gestated album, Gore.
The album’s arrival seems only to have heightened the anticipation for tonight’s show and acts as a signal to the thousands of amassed fans that while the journey thus far has been anything but smooth for the Deftones, they’re still here. And grateful for it.
Perhaps by way of thanks, the band treat us to an expansive set that features classic tracks from all eight studio albums. Much to the crowd’s delight, My Own Summer is the second track to be played and immediately the affirming sense of nostalgia washes over you.
Rather than suck all life from the show, the arena setting gives Deftones brutal yet beautiful alt-metal sound the space it needs to flourish. While a backdrop loops hypnotic visuals, a bleached blonde Chino prowls atop the monitors, occasionally diving headlong into the crowd to press the flesh with the front row. Steph Carpenter flails us both with his ear-peeling riffs and mane of thick black hair, and Abe Cunningham does his best to brutally murder his entire drum kit. It’s classic Deftones and it’s utterly brilliant at every turn.
A squeal of stadium metal soloing between tracks from Steph illicts a sarky “you should turn that into a song” from Moreno but it’s playful enough to suggest that while there may have been tension between the two during the making of Gore, all ill-feeling fades when they take to the stage.
A two-song encore rounds off a set that many will feel could have gone on for another hour but the band have done enough to once again cement themselves as one of rock/metal’s most important bands of all time.
