Deftones, Crystal Palace Park, London review • DIY Magazine

There’s a palpable feeling of both anticipation (possibly from everyone desperately seeking a scrap of shade on the hottest day of the year) and relief (from those lucky enough to have found it) when entering the site at Crystal Palace Park, that those present are about to witness a career-defining event for Deftones who, only the previous day, had to pull their Glastonbury set due to illness.

First to take to the stage today, HEALTH’s 18-year evolution has seen them morph from an undefinable, glitchy electro-metal sound into the unique brand of industrial shoegaze that’s on display today. Tracks like ‘HATEFUL’ and the Rammstein-reminiscent ‘DSM-V’ are crushingly heavy, yet ethereal. They wouldn’t be out of place playing Berghain, but today it’s South London that they leave fully energised.

By total contrast, boisterous London indie hardcore lads High Vis - who appear thrilled yet baffled that they are even there - aggressively pave the way for the pop-rock hit factory that is Weezer. Rivers and co. stroll nonchalantly onstage to deliver a 30+ year career-spanning greatest hits set. The hour that follows is a mass singalong, with ‘Why Bother?’, ‘My Name Is Jonas’, ‘Undone - The Sweater Song’ and ‘Beverly Hills’ standing out among a set of nothing but highs. A near-perfect performance (no need to dwell on the typically awkward stage banter) is rounded out with several thousand people air guitaring along to ‘Buddy Holly’.

Just as the searing sun finally dips behind the trees, the lights come up and Deftones launch straight into the two biggest hitters from their 1997 second album ‘Around The Fur’. On paper, ‘Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)’ may be a strange choice for a set opener, but it’s never sounded more full and appropriate than it does today; to follow it with ‘My Own Summer (Shove It)’ gives a solid nod of gratitude to those who’ve have been with them since the early days.

Back in the ‘90s, Deftones may have been (quite understandably) branded with the nu-metal tag, but with the new millennium came a new album that set them on a singular path. The searing, celestial - almost romantic - choruses of tracks like ‘Change (In The House Of Flies)’ from 2000’s ‘White Pony’ (for which Chino Moreno performs against a spectacular backdrop of a hazy, slowly rising sun) and ‘Hole In The Earth’, from 2006’s ‘Saturday Night Wrist’, originally afforded them recognition as stellar musicians, but in very recent years have also given them a whole new fanbase. A good 20% of tonight’s audience likely weren’t born when the opening two tracks of this set were first released, yet a renewed, algorithm-driven influence has them singing their hearts out with everyone else.

The vast breadth of Deftones’ discography is on full display tonight. ‘Genesis’ and the title track from 2010’s ‘Diamond Eyes’ are heavy as hell yet beautiful - like a sexy Meshuggah - while ‘Swerve City’ sees thousands bouncing in unison, and their softer side - ‘Sextape’ and ‘Digital Bath’ - help to punctuate the set. Their origins aren’t ignored either. Despite being an entirely different band for 25 years, Deftones close tonight back where it all began: with ‘Bored’ and ‘7 Words’, both from 1995 debut ‘Adrenaline’, ensuring that every last person here - whichever era Deftones they’re a fan of - leaves knowing they’ve witnessed something truly special.