Deftones frontman Chino Moreno has revealed that his decision to get sober during the pandemic significantly impacted the creation of the band’s new album, private music, which is set for release on August 22. In a new interview with The New York Times, Moreno candidly discussed how this lifestyle change has improved his creative process.
The album’s themes of transformation are hinted at through its cover art, which features an albino snake, and the track title “Ecdysis,” a term for a reptile shedding its skin. Moreno confirmed that this artistic metaphor is rooted in his personal journey.
During a previous interview with Zane Lowe, Moreno detailed his struggles with isolation and loneliness during the pandemic, a time when he expected to be more creative but instead found himself turning to alcohol. “I would go down in my studio, and I’d sit in there and I’d pick up a guitar for a minute… and I go put on a record… crack a beer,” he recalled. “And then it got earlier, under, like 10 o’clock in the morning, and I’m just [thinking] there’s nothing to do. I just got sad and lonely.”
He explained that his decision to get sober was a realization that he “wanted to do something, try something different… [sobriety] was something I’d never tried before.” The change brought a newfound clarity to his work. “When I started writing again, it was just like, everything is a lot clearer,” he said. He also noted a shift in his approach to live performances, where he would previously drink to feel “loose and silly.” He admitted, “I would never be able to watch any live performance of myself. And if one would come on, I would just cringe, and I couldn’t look at it.” This realization, he said, made him understand that he “was just not really happy with myself. I knew I could do better. I knew there was a better version [of myself].”
In the new interview, Moreno spoke directly about the benefits for the band’s new record. “I went through that thing a lot of artists fear, like whether this or that drug has something to do with my creativity,” he said. “But honestly, the minute that I started being creative without it, I realized I didn’t need it. And now, maybe because of this, I feel like we made one of our best records — it stands right alongside anything that we’ve ever done.”
The release of private music on August 22 coincides with the launch of the band’s North American headlining tour, which features support from Phantogram and Idles. A European tour with Denzel Curry and Drug Church is scheduled for early 2026.
