Deftones | Excessive Vis
The Piece Corridor, Halifax
twenty fourth July 2025
Seminal California metallers Deftones deliver their very own model of shoegaze-flavoured nu-metal to West Yorkshire. Louder Than Struggle’s Dave Beech and Adam Edwards have been there.
That just about a yr has handed since we have been final at Halifax’s iconic Piece Corridor appears loopy, however it’s good to see that, while the world appears like a really totally different place from 12 months in the past, the Georgian surrounds stay simply as spectacular.
A automobile crash on the M62 sees us arrive with barely a second to spare earlier than London post-punks Excessive Vis take to the stage, kicking issues off instantly with an uplifting Speak For Hours. The primary noticeable factor is simply how loud every thing feels, making a touch to the bar for some earplugs one thing of a necessity.
One other noticeable factor is the sheer power and aggression that emanates from the stage as frontman Graham Sayle makes full use of the house supplied, wrapping himself within the mic cable, spin kicking and leaping with wild and wilful abandon. Submit-punk it could be, however there’s no denying the hardcore sensibilities which might be imbued so closely throughout the band. Tracks akin to Strolling Wires, 0151, and Select To Unfastened bristle with the identical sense of urgency, making Excessive Vis some of the very important bands round at present.
That mentioned, they do appear a barely odd assist for Deftones, however one we’re massively completely satisfied to have the ability to see once more. As are the group entrance and centre of the stage, who gleefully open mosh pits for the heavier facets of the set. Such dedication is missing behind the group, nonetheless, with individuals chatting amongst themselves, seemingly detached to the chaos taking place on stage. An emotive closing name to arms within the type of Trauma Bonds sees the set end simply as strongly because it began, with Sayle thanking the viewers earlier than disappearing rapidly from the stage.
An extended changeover than earlier years makes for the right alternative for a toilet break, becoming a member of a protracted queue because it snakes its manner in direction of the exit and smoking space. It’s at this level, we discover simply how totally different the group feels from earlier Piece Corridor exhibits. Impatient at finest, bordering on the conceited and aggressive at worst, it’s one thing that we seen after we noticed Deftones at Obtain Pageant a few years again, and it does create a little bit of an environment.
Fortunately, we don’t have to attend lengthy earlier than the video display screen backing the stage turns black, and the band’s brand seems within the high left nook to a cheer from the group. It reverts to black once more, earlier than purple lights illuminate the haze billowing throughout the stage, and Chino Moreno and co stroll on to a second cheer.
It’s at this second that the rain that’s been threatening to fall makes an look because the band kicks into Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away). It’s simply drizzle at first, earlier than sheeting down sideways, soaking the capability crowd beneath. Ponchos are pulled from luggage, and we make an observation to by no means come to a Piece Corridor present once more with out waterproofs.
My Personal Summer time (Shove It) is subsequent. Mosh pits erupt with a fierce depth, but additional again, it’s troublesome to see the stage because of the ocean of telephones that start filming. Whereas we’re too far down the rabbit gap to cease individuals from doing this, on the very least, they need to be made to movie in panorama.
Bridging the hole effortlessly between shoegaze and nu-metal, tracks merge effortlessly along with little in the way in which of crowd interplay from Moreno. Diamond Eyes feels as heavy because the rain that also resolutely falls while Tempest and Swerve Metropolis comply with, inflicting the primary actual sing-alongs of the night because the rain eases briefly, simply sufficient to have the ability to take a look at the stage as an alternative of the puddles forming at our ft. Fortunately, it appears Deftones are in significantly better kind than the final time we noticed them, and while the primary half of the set feels extra hinged on their shoegaze sensibilities, Sextape alerts a shift in temper, because the set’s weight will increase and the urgency of the band will increase tenfold.
Two raised platforms containing the drummer Abe Cunningham and keyboardist Frank DelGardo flank the stage as washes of purple and blue strobes illuminate the falling rain with each hit of the kickdrum. Gap In The Earth precedes Change (In The Home Of Flies), the latter signalling that we’re heading in direction of the tip of the principle set correct.
Minerva opens the encore following a brief interlude through which the electronics crackle and poo behind the white and blue stage lights, while Bored and seven Phrases deliver a near proceedings; Chino alternating between rapping and screaming, bringing issues proper again to the band’s nu-metal roots, guaranteeing that the present finishes on a excessive.
There’s no fanfare, only a fast phrase of thanks, a peace signal from Moreno, and completed. Wrapping up our first outing to Halifax of the yr, and fortunately exhibiting us why Deftones are a band individuals don’t identical to, however obsess over.
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Extra from Deftones might be discovered on their web site, Fb and Instagram.
Dave Beech is a music author based mostly in Manchester. Hyperlinks to his work might be discovered over at his weblog, Life’s A Beech, in addition to his Louder Than Struggle Writer Archive. He additionally tweets as @Dave__Beech
Images by Adam Edwards – Fb | Instagram | Portfolio
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