Sacramento, CA alternative metal stars Deftones currently hold a notable record on online music database/marketplace Discogs. As pointed out by the company’s social media today, October 15th, the band’s 1992 demo currently stands as the most expensive cassette tape ever sold on Discogs.
That early recording from the then largely unknown group was purchased by an individual on Discogs on May 18th of this year for $5,000 USD. As is the case with most pre-internet demos, that four-song recording was self-made by the outfit and their management at the time.
It was also said to be limited a total of 15 copies — though it would seem that either bootlegs of it are out there, or the band’s camp went back and made some more copies, as 28 individuals claim to have the tape on Discogs.
Either way, the cassette featured rough recordings of the tracks “Like Linus“, “Hump“, “Some People” and “Plastic“, and was produced to to shop the group to potential labels and the like for a record deal. Surprisingly, it wasn’t just the standard blank tape affair either, with the shell featuring the actual printed track listing and contact info for their manager at the time.
Audio of the songs themselves featured on the demo have been circulating online for decades now, but as of yet, that era of the Deftones catalog remains largely consigned to history in any official capacity. Despite that demos hefty price tag, a 1991 tape featuring the songs “Answers” and “Hogburg Hop” serves as the band’s earliest ‘official’ recording.
