Live Review: Deftones – 29th June 2025 – Crystal Palace Park, London, UK

Sunday afternoon we braved the heat and made our way to Crystal Palace Park for a very special event; an evening with Deftones. The nu-metal legends arrived under some scrutiny, after pulling out of their set at Glastonbury last minute the night before. There were concerns that the show would also be cut due to illness, but thankfully this wasn’t the case. In any case, it promised to be an eclectic, and sweaty night.

Greeting us at the park was a sea of black t-shirts and heat stricken stewards, all graciously assisting and directing the growing hoards. Everyone working the event deserves commending for working in the heat, and most being out in the open for hours at a time. LA band HEALTH opened proceedings with their industrial mix of alternative metal and techno. Singer Jake Kuzsik thanked the sizeable crowd watching, clearly enjoying his time in London. Locals High Vis followed, their heavy brit-pop meets punk sound juxtaposing completely but delivering in spades. Vocalist Graham Sayle was incredibly grateful, and incredibly open about the meaning of their songs, one being dedicated to his sibling with cereal palsy and another to a friend lost to alcoholism. It was a moving and spectacular performance, and especially different from the last time yours truly saw them in a dingy basement in Soho.

Weezer continued the grit with their heaviest, and most throwback, set imaginable. Opening with Hash Pipe and moving into hits from their seminal debut record like My Name Is Jonas, Holiday, Say It Ain’t So, and of course Buddy Holly. There were hints at their further back catalogue, like the peppy Beverley Hills and indie classic Island In The Sun, but it was a set list constructed purely for an open crowd. “Hi, we’re Weezer,” singer Rivers Cuomo said to the cheering crowd, “nice to meet you!” Later he admitted that the band had been surprised by the size of the venue. “We had no idea!” Despite that, Weezer owned the stage and delivered an excellent performance.

Deftones arrived with little warning at around half eight. The crowd, that had begun squeezing towards the stage, were left charging as the band opened with back-to-back hits. Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)’s intro drew the final people in, while My Own Summer (Shove It) had heads banging, groups jumping, and the majority trying to match singer Chino Moreno and guitarist Lance Jackman’s (Stephen Carpenter’s stand-in) harrowing screams. They weren’t pulling any punches, despite the afflictions facing Moreno. One song led quickly into another, only snippets of talking occurring across the entire runtime. “Welcome everyone,” Moreno said after multiple tunes had already passed, “Sunday afternoon…”

The selected cuts from their back catalogue was a masterful act of curation. Diamond Eyes, Swerve City, Hole In The Earth, and Digital Bath all felt like taking a trip through their career, and sounded just as good as they did on the records. Around The Fur was dedicated to the UK, the song a deep cut from the album of the same name, and it accepted with open arms. Change (In the House of Flies) and Minerva provided a respite in the onslaught, as did Sextape and Rosemary, all perfectly placed for maximum impact. It was all over so soon, or so it felt. An hour and a half in a blink of an eye. There was no encore, but then again it wasn’t needed. Everyone got their Deftones fix and then some.

Deftones Set list:
Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)
My Own Summer (Shove It)
Diamond Eyes
Tempest
Swerve City
Feiticeira
Digital Bath
You’ve Seen the Butcher
Rocket Skates
Sextape
Around the Fur
Headup
Rosemary
Hole in the Earth
Change (In the House of Flies)
Genesis

Encore:
Minerva
Bored
7 Words

Ryan Bulbeck

Writer and Musician, Ryan Bulbeck has been published with a number of online publications, and has worked with a myriad of great artists, both as a performer, and as a producer. His most recent band The 295 are still active, playing shows around the UK.