Deftones To Release New Album In April

Despite the serious accident Deftones bassist Chi Cheng suffered — he's still recovering from a coma after being in a car crash in 2008 — the band plan to continue together, and they'll release a new album on April 27.

Deftones have recruited long-time friend and former Quicksand member Sergio Vega for bass duties on the yet-unnamed album. But it wasn't an easy decision for the band to make.

"We honestly thought that after this thing happened with Chi, why even carry on?" frontman Chino Moreno told the Noisecreep metal website. "Things flipped back and forth... But there are some things bigger and better for us, and we were lucky enough to get together and communicate and find something for ourselves."

Their newest collection of songs reportedly sounds similar to two of their most celebrated releases, 1997's Around The Fur and 2000's White Pony. They songs were recorded furiously over the span of two months, with producer Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Rush) at the helm.

Moreno says that urgency has paid off.

"I honestly think it's one of the best, if not the best records we've ever done," he said.

It's not the only new material the Deftones have recorded since 2006's Saturday Night Wrist.

They've also tracked another album, Eros, with Cheng and producer Terry Date (Pantera, Soundgarden). But the band decided to postpone the album's release for a later date because of Cheng's condition, saying it wasn't representative of their collective headspaces.

According to the band's blog, Eros will be released in the future, although they haven't confirmed any timelines.