Davey Havok, vocalist for platinum-certified goth punks AFI, has commented on his long friendship with alternative metal trailblazers Deftones. Last week, AFI were among the lineup additions to Deftones‘ upcoming biggest UK headlining show yet. That concert is scheduled for August 23rd at Victoria Park in London and will also feature IDLES, Interpol and many more.
Elaborating on their friendship, Havok also proclaimed Deftones as being an “exception’ in being able to cross over to fans of hardcore & metalcore music in their early days, Havok stated [transcribed by theprp.com]:
“So we’re coming back to play the [UK} with Deftones again. This is what we do now. We only play in England with the Deftones.
It’s a great bill. It’s really always an honor to play with the Deftones. We’ve been acquainted with them for quite some time, but we were fans before we ever met the Deftones. You know, they were… there’s a lot of crossover between what the Deftones were doing and the hardcore fan base. A lot of the hardcore kids that we grew up with were very, very much Deftones fans.
So they were a part of the zeitgeist in those days, as they are even more so now a completely different zeitgeist. So the the prospect of playing with them was never a prospect in the early days, because though the hardcore kids were involved in their scene, it was the exception. So having the opportunity to play with them is is always a thrill. And they’re such wonderful wonderful men.
They’re all just very kind and we have a lot of commonality in our tastes and our in our our musical affinities. I believe Chino and I did an interview together, I believe the last time we were in England together, talking about post-punk a lot as I recall. Something of the sort. I remember us talking about our shared love of Mr. Robert Smith and his peers.”
Despite initially rising to prominence in nü-metal circles, Deftones did indeed have a considerable amount of cred in the hardcore and metalcore scenes. In 1997, Deftones vocalist/guitarist Chino Moreno notably guested on Strife‘s “Will To Die“. At the time, Strife were signed with Victory Records and among the more prominent bands in that scene in California at the time. Deftones‘ frequent early ties to bands like Will Haven and Far also helped them branch out early on.