Eros (album)
Encyclopedia
Eros is the working title
of an unreleased album by American alternative metal
band Deftones
with tentative release dates in 2008 and 2009. The November 2008 car accident of bassist Chi Cheng
forced the band to initially hold off on releasing the album, and later shelve the album indefinitely in a creative decision to move forward. With Cheng in a coma
, Deftones recruited former Quicksand
bassist Sergio Vega
and released Diamond Eyes
instead in 2010. The band still intends to release Eros at some point.
, the relationship among band members started to dissolve. This tension carried over to the recording of the group's fourth studio album, Deftones
, in 2003, which was a dark and depressing record. Deftones were not pleased with the album they created and did not tour much in support of it. They soon started work on what would eventually become Saturday Night Wrist
, a record that was pieced together with the members emailing each other their own recorded parts and not written as a full band. In the middle of recording Saturday Night Wrist, Moreno went on a three month tour with his side project Team Sleep
. Deftones were on the verge of breaking up due to the unstable personal lives of each member both inside and outside of the band. This time period in the band's chronology is referred to by Deftones as "The Dark Days."
, Deftones set up a room backstage each night to jam together as a whole band.
In October 2007, Deftones returned to their home in California and revamped their studio, The Spot. According to Carpenter, the studio became more of a clubhouse or "treehouse with a studio in it." The band built a bar in the studio and would go there to drink, play cards and hangout before picking up their instruments each day. Deftones used their pre-production time as therapy to vent about their lives in a positive environment. Several members were going through divorces at this time, going through custody battles over their children, money issues and other problems. By the end of October, Deftones had half of an album written and continued to write throughout the rest of 2007 with intentions to self-produce the material in the following year.
, and they would always say [in heavy, lust accent], 'Eros.' it was just kind of funny, and it's been a joke for years." Deftones officially entered the studio on April 14, 2008 with producer Terry Date
and engineer Scott Olson
. Deftones worked with Terry Date on their first four studio albums, from 1995's Adrenaline
through 2003's Deftones. The band created a blog specifically to update fans on the progress of recording, the first time in the group's history. In September 2008, Deftones started performing the new song "Melanie" during live performances. Around this time Terry Date had begun mixing some of the songs at his home studio in Seattle, Washington
. They had also planned on releasing one video of studio updates online per week leading up to the album's release, but only released five before production was put on hold.
Bassist Chi Cheng was on his way home returning from his brother's memorial service on November 3, 2008 when he was involved in a serious car accident. Chino Moreno had just left the studio after recording his vocal tracks for Eros, and was about half-way done with all songs on the album when the accident occurred. Cheng was rushed to the ICU and was later announced to be in a coma. All production on the album halted, and the main focus of the band members was on Cheng's condition.
The new album, titled Diamond Eyes
, was released on May 4, 2010. Deftones supported this release throughout 2010 and 2011 with international tours, singles and music videos for the songs "Diamond Eyes
," "Rocket Skates
," "Sextape
," "You've Seen the Butcher
," and "Beauty School." With Eros still shelved, Deftones expect to write a second album with Vega during mid-to-late 2011 and release it in early 2012.
However, Deftones started writing new music with Sergio Vega, and in June 2009 the band made the creative decision to hold off with releasing Eros indefinitely in favor a new album later to be known as Diamond Eyes
. The band still hopes to release Eros at some point down the road, but a specific or tentative date is unknown. As of 2011, there is no estimated release date for the album. Feeling that the album is attached to the tragedy surrounding Chi Cheng, the group would like to wait until enough time has passed for the songs to stand on their own merits. Deftones would also ideally like for Cheng to come out of his comatose state before it gets released. According to Moreno:
's "lengthy spaced-out songs, psychedelic vibes and plenty of jamming" by Revolver
. The song "Dallas" was specifically compared to the "big sounding, real mid-tempo" song "Minerva
" from Deftones' self-titled album. In a 2010 interview with Sergio Vega, he described the Eros material as longer and more complex than the songs recorded for Diamond Eyes.
s.
Production and recording
of an unreleased album by American alternative metal
Alternative metal
Alternative metal is a genre of alternative rock and heavy metal that gained popularity in the early 1990s. Most notably, alternative metal bands are characterized by heavy guitar riffs and experimental approaches to heavy music.-Origins:...
band Deftones
Deftones
Deftones are an American alternative metal band from Sacramento, California, founded in 1988. The band consists of Chino Moreno , Stephen Carpenter , Chi Cheng , Frank Delgado , and Abe Cunningham . Currently Sergio Vega is standing in on bass while Cheng recovers from a car accident...
with tentative release dates in 2008 and 2009. The November 2008 car accident of bassist Chi Cheng
Chi Cheng (musician)
Chi Cheng, is a Chinese American musician, best known as the bass guitarist for the American band Deftones.-Personal life:...
forced the band to initially hold off on releasing the album, and later shelve the album indefinitely in a creative decision to move forward. With Cheng in a coma
Coma
In medicine, a coma is a state of unconsciousness, lasting more than 6 hours in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light or sound, lacks a normal sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. A person in a state of coma is described as...
, Deftones recruited former Quicksand
Quicksand (band)
Quicksand was an American post-hardcore band from New York City founded in 1990 by singer/songwriter Walter Schreifels. Their debut self-titled EP was followed by two major label albums, Slip and Manic Compression...
bassist Sergio Vega
Sergio Vega (bassist)
Sergio Vega is an American musician. He is the former bassist of post-hardcore band Quicksand, which originated in New York City in 1990. In 1995, Quicksand disbanded, although they reunited again in 1997 to tour with Deftones...
and released Diamond Eyes
Diamond Eyes
Diamond Eyes is the sixth album by American Alternative metal band Deftones, released worldwide on May 4, 2010 through Warner Bros. and Reprise Records...
instead in 2010. The band still intends to release Eros at some point.
Precursors (2000–2006)
Beginning with the writing process and subsequent rigorous touring schedule to promote Deftones' 2000 album White PonyWhite Pony
White Pony is the third studio album by American alternative metal band Deftones. Released in 2000, it marks a significant growth in the band's sound, incorporating New Wave and shoegaze influences with the alternative metal edge the group had become known for...
, the relationship among band members started to dissolve. This tension carried over to the recording of the group's fourth studio album, Deftones
Deftones (album)
Deftones was well received by critics earning an aggregate rating of 74 on Metacritic. The music website Sputnikmusic gave it a perfect score and praised the band for have returned to their heavy sound without leaving behind their experimental side, lauding also Moreno's abstract lyrics and the...
, in 2003, which was a dark and depressing record. Deftones were not pleased with the album they created and did not tour much in support of it. They soon started work on what would eventually become Saturday Night Wrist
Saturday Night Wrist
Saturday Night Wrist is the fifth studio album by American metal band Deftones. It was released on Maverick Records on October 31, 2006. Despite early contributions that were later scrapped, Saturday Night Wrist marks the departure of mainstay Deftones producer Terry Date.The band's fifth album...
, a record that was pieced together with the members emailing each other their own recorded parts and not written as a full band. In the middle of recording Saturday Night Wrist, Moreno went on a three month tour with his side project Team Sleep
Team Sleep
Team Sleep is an American experimental alternative rock group led by singer/guitarist Chino Moreno, better known for fronting the Sacramento-based band Deftones....
. Deftones were on the verge of breaking up due to the unstable personal lives of each member both inside and outside of the band. This time period in the band's chronology is referred to by Deftones as "The Dark Days."
Resolutions and beginning to write Eros (2007)
Prior to the tour in support of Saturday Night Wrist, a meeting was held with Deftones and their management about the fate of the band. When asked if the members still wanted to continue as a band, "The answer was a unanimous, 'Fuck yeah we do,'" which resulted in a "huge powwow and hug session." This meeting was a major turning point for the inner-band morale. Hoping for a rapid turnaround from their previous album, Deftones quickly started writing music for Eros as early as May 2007, only seven months after Saturday Night Wrist was released, and continued writing throughout the remainder of the year. During their tour with The Fall of TroyThe Fall of Troy
The Fall of Troy was an American progressive math rock trio from Mukilteo, Washington. The trio consisted of Thomas Erak , Andrew Forsman and Frank Ene...
, Deftones set up a room backstage each night to jam together as a whole band.
In October 2007, Deftones returned to their home in California and revamped their studio, The Spot. According to Carpenter, the studio became more of a clubhouse or "treehouse with a studio in it." The band built a bar in the studio and would go there to drink, play cards and hangout before picking up their instruments each day. Deftones used their pre-production time as therapy to vent about their lives in a positive environment. Several members were going through divorces at this time, going through custody battles over their children, money issues and other problems. By the end of October, Deftones had half of an album written and continued to write throughout the rest of 2007 with intentions to self-produce the material in the following year.
Recording and Cheng's accident (2008)
The working title of "Eros" was announced in January 2008. The tentative title stems from an inside joke between the band members. Drummer Abe Cunningham stated that while touring Germany, "There'd always be some sort of German pornPORN
Porn is a common short form for pornography. It may also refer to:* Progressive outer retinal necrosis, a disease of the retina* PORN, a French industrial rock band...
, and they would always say [in heavy, lust accent], 'Eros.' it was just kind of funny, and it's been a joke for years." Deftones officially entered the studio on April 14, 2008 with producer Terry Date
Terry Date
Terry Date is an American record producer and engineer, specializing in the rock and metal genres...
and engineer Scott Olson
Scott Olson
Scott Olson is a guitarist, bassist, and recording engineer. He played guitar with Heart 1995-1998 and 2002–2003, and in 1996 he performed with Alice In Chains on their MTV Unplugged concert....
. Deftones worked with Terry Date on their first four studio albums, from 1995's Adrenaline
Adrenaline (album)
-Personnel:Deftones*Chino Moreno – vocals*Stephen Carpenter – guitars*Chi Cheng – bass guitar, backing vocals*Abe Cunningham – drumsProduction*Kim Biggs – art direction*Victor Bracke – cover photo...
through 2003's Deftones. The band created a blog specifically to update fans on the progress of recording, the first time in the group's history. In September 2008, Deftones started performing the new song "Melanie" during live performances. Around this time Terry Date had begun mixing some of the songs at his home studio in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
. They had also planned on releasing one video of studio updates online per week leading up to the album's release, but only released five before production was put on hold.
Bassist Chi Cheng was on his way home returning from his brother's memorial service on November 3, 2008 when he was involved in a serious car accident. Chino Moreno had just left the studio after recording his vocal tracks for Eros, and was about half-way done with all songs on the album when the accident occurred. Cheng was rushed to the ICU and was later announced to be in a coma. All production on the album halted, and the main focus of the band members was on Cheng's condition.
Shelving Eros and new albums (2009–2012)
With production on Eros still on hold, Deftones recruited former Quicksand bassist Sergio Vega to fill in for various festival shows and also fundraising concerts for Cheng's hospital bills in early 2009. Vega had previously filled during 1999 tours after Cheng underwent foot surgery. In July 2009, Deftones announced they had indefinitely shelved Eros in favor of work on a new album written with Vega. Their decision to temporarily scrap the album and start over was a "purely creative" choice, and had nothing to do with the condition of the bassist. Instead of finishing what they had started and releasing the nearly complete Eros, which was described as a dark album, Deftones wanted to write an optimistic and uplifting album to help cope with their situation with Cheng. The band used the same method of writing music as a group and avoiding Pro Tools that was used with the writing and recording of Eros.The new album, titled Diamond Eyes
Diamond Eyes
Diamond Eyes is the sixth album by American Alternative metal band Deftones, released worldwide on May 4, 2010 through Warner Bros. and Reprise Records...
, was released on May 4, 2010. Deftones supported this release throughout 2010 and 2011 with international tours, singles and music videos for the songs "Diamond Eyes
Diamond Eyes (song)
"Diamond Eyes" is a song by American alternative metal band Deftones. It is the second single and title track released from Deftones' sixth studio album Diamond Eyes, and their thirteenth single overall. It is the second single recorded without bassist Chi Cheng, due to a coma induced by an...
," "Rocket Skates
Rocket Skates
"Rocket Skates" is a song by the American alternative metal band Deftones. It is the first single released from Deftones' sixth studio-album Diamond Eyes, and twelfth single overall. It is also the first single released without bassist Chi Cheng, who was in a coma during the time of recording...
," "Sextape
Sextape (song)
"Sextape" is a single by the American alternative metal band Deftones and third single from their sixth studio album Diamond Eyes. Despite its more soft/mainstream sound, the single has failed to chart.-Release:...
," "You've Seen the Butcher
You've Seen the Butcher
"You've Seen the Butcher" is the fourth official single by Sacramento, California based alternative metal band, Deftones, from their sixth studio album Diamond Eyes. The song is unique among modern rock singles for its use of an unusual time signature...
," and "Beauty School." With Eros still shelved, Deftones expect to write a second album with Vega during mid-to-late 2011 and release it in early 2012.
Release
Eros saw several tentative release dates before it was shelved indefinitely. When the band started writing the album in 2007, Eros was expected for a late 2008 release. As late 2008 began to approach, the tentative release date was pushed back to early 2009; or simply "winter" as seen in the teaser studio videos. After Cheng's car accident, it was uncertain if the album would ever get released. But after Deftones began started playing shows in early 2009, a new tentative release date of October 2009 was announced.However, Deftones started writing new music with Sergio Vega, and in June 2009 the band made the creative decision to hold off with releasing Eros indefinitely in favor a new album later to be known as Diamond Eyes
Diamond Eyes
Diamond Eyes is the sixth album by American Alternative metal band Deftones, released worldwide on May 4, 2010 through Warner Bros. and Reprise Records...
. The band still hopes to release Eros at some point down the road, but a specific or tentative date is unknown. As of 2011, there is no estimated release date for the album. Feeling that the album is attached to the tragedy surrounding Chi Cheng, the group would like to wait until enough time has passed for the songs to stand on their own merits. Deftones would also ideally like for Cheng to come out of his comatose state before it gets released. According to Moreno:
Musical style
Contrasting to the lighter and more atmospheric sound of Saturday Night Wrist, Eros was expected to be a heavier album. In 2008, prior to recording, the album had been described as the band's "most unorthodox piece of work" containing "that good old 'Fuck you, I hope you die!' aggression." On previous Deftones records, Moreno wrote some of the guitar parts with Stephen Carpenter; but Moreno stepped down from guitars to focus solely on vocals and lyrics, giving Carpenter full creative control over guitar composition. Where as Moreno writes slower more mid-tempo songs, Stephen Carpenter writes "snappier" more up-tempo songs. The songs he wrote for Eros were described as "energetic" and "dance-y." The album was also later described as a very dark and experimental album that pushed the each member's creative boundary. Comparisons were drawn between the more experimental tracks and Pink FloydPink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
's "lengthy spaced-out songs, psychedelic vibes and plenty of jamming" by Revolver
Revolver (magazine)
Revolver is a bi-monthly rock and heavy metal magazine published by Future US. Before covering heavy metal, rock & hard rock solely, it was a more mainstream oriented magazine. The magazine is structured in a manner similar to publications such as Spin while covering many avenues within the heavy...
. The song "Dallas" was specifically compared to the "big sounding, real mid-tempo" song "Minerva
Minerva (song)
"Minerva" is a song by American alternative metal band Deftones and the lead single from their fourth studio album, Deftones. Released in April 2003, it charted at #9 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart, #16 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and #15 on the UK Singles Chart...
" from Deftones' self-titled album. In a 2010 interview with Sergio Vega, he described the Eros material as longer and more complex than the songs recorded for Diamond Eyes.
Tentative track titles
The working titles of all songs from the Eros sessions were named after stripperStripper
A stripper is a professional erotic dancer who performs a contemporary form of striptease at strip club establishments, public exhibitions, and private engagements. Unlike in burlesque, the performer in the modern Americanized form of stripping minimizes the interaction of customer and dancer,...
s.
- "Dallas"
- "Destiny"
- "Melanie"
- "Trempest"
Personnel
Deftones- Stephen CarpenterStephen CarpenterStephen Carpenter is an American musician known as the co-founder and lead guitarist of the alternative metal band Deftones. His guitar technique makes use of both ringing open strings and dissonant chord voicings, as well as stock power chords in polyrhythms...
– guitarsElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker... - Chi ChengChi Cheng (musician)Chi Cheng, is a Chinese American musician, best known as the bass guitarist for the American band Deftones.-Personal life:...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Abe CunninghamAbe CunninghamAbe Cunningham, , is an American musician, he is the drummer of the alternative metal band Deftones. He is known for his use of ghost notes and other technical drumming techniques.-Biography:...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Frank Delgado – keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, samplesSampler (musical instrument)A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or... - Chino MorenoChino MorenoChino Moreno is an American musician. He is best known as the lead singer and contributing guitarist of Deftones. He is also a member of the side-project bands Team Sleep and Crosses....
– vocals
Production and recording
- Terry DateTerry DateTerry Date is an American record producer and engineer, specializing in the rock and metal genres...
– producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music... - Scott OlsonScott OlsonScott Olson is a guitarist, bassist, and recording engineer. He played guitar with Heart 1995-1998 and 2002–2003, and in 1996 he performed with Alice In Chains on their MTV Unplugged concert....
– audio engineerAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
External links
- Eros studio videos 1–5 at MySpace Video