by Simon Tranter - stpai@attglobal.net

It’s been two years since the Deftones last played England, and ever since, their return has been eagerly anticipated.

The atmosphere here tonight at Brixton Academy is electric. Avid fans wait the moment Deftones step up on stage! But first, Glassjaw, tonight’s support act has to be contended with. This band, predominantly built up of pubescent teenagers, receive a controversial response from the crowd. Their thirty-five minute set travels relatively quickly, before the all-powerful Deftones are scheduled to play.

Eventually, the background music fades, the lights go out, and the crowd explodes into an almighty blast of shouts and chants. They stroll on stage and start their set with the melodic ‘Be quiet and drive’ taken from the album ‘Around the Fur.’ It isn’t until the well-known tune ‘Bored’ breaks in, when we see front man Chino Moreno physically leap from the stage onto the crowd. Adapting his famous crowd surfing stunt into the band’s choreography further electrifies the atmosphere. ‘Change (in the house of flies)’ is the first track we hear from their, as yet unreleased album ‘White Pony’ which gains an uplifting response from the crowd. If the show ended now you could still say you’d had one on the best adrenaline rushes!

Their schedule blasts along as we hear the likes of ‘7 Words’, ‘Root’ and ‘Around the Fur’ project through the towered speakers, literally penetrating our ears. The band shows their respect for the audience with their regular communication, which helps to make the evening that little bit more sentimental.

With what seems like half an hour, but is in actual fact 1 hour and 10 minutes, the band walk off stage. However, the crowds continuous chants at the band forces them to reappear to blow our minds even further, with an inspiring encore consisting of ‘Elite’ and final song ‘Head-up.’ After an intense 1 hour and 30 minutes, they bid us fair well, leaving us with an uplifting sentence, which ties the gig up perfectly. Chino shouts, “See you at Reading!”

Simon Tranter