Deftones’ members in 2026 are Chino Moreno on vocals and guitar, Stephen Carpenter on guitar, Abe Cunningham on drums, Frank Delgado on keyboards and turntables, and Fred Sablan on bass. Three of those five have been there since 1988. One of them hasn’t left North America with the band in four years, and his own singer says he doesn’t know why. And the bass chair Sablan occupies is the heaviest seat in the band — because the man who built it never got to come back to it.
The current Deftones lineup
Chino Moreno — vocals, guitar
Founding member, 1988.
The voice, and the reason this band never got stuck in the era that produced them. Moreno can move from a whisper to a scream inside a bar and make it sound like the only reasonable thing to do, and he’s been doing it since he was a teenager in Sacramento.
He also plays guitar on record and increasingly live, which is a bigger deal than it sounds — the interplay between his parts and Carpenter’s is where a lot of the band’s tension actually lives. His side projects, ††† (Crosses) with Shaun Lopez and Palms with members of Isis, have been running alongside Deftones for years without ever diluting it.
Stephen Carpenter — guitar
Founding member, 1988.
Carpenter is the architect. That downtuned, thick, absolutely mountainous guitar sound is his, and it’s been imitated by a generation of bands who never got within a mile of it.
Put on Around the Fur and skip to “My Own Summer (Shove It).” Four seconds in, before Chino has said a word, that riff arrives and the whole room changes shape. It isn’t fast. It isn’t technical. It’s just enormous, and it moves like something with a body. That’s Carpenter, and it’s why the eight-string tone he moved to later became a whole subgenre’s starting point.
He is also the reason this page has a section below it that most outlets tiptoe around.
Abe Cunningham — drums
Founding member, 1988.
The most underrated drummer of that entire generation, and it isn’t close.
Cunningham doesn’t play metal drums. He plays with a jazz musician’s sense of space and a hardcore kid’s arms, and the result is a band that can sit dead still for eight bars and then detonate without a single fill telling you it’s coming. Listen to what he’s doing underneath “Digital Bath” — barely anything, and it’s the reason the song breathes.
He’s been there for every album, every era, every lineup change.
Frank Delgado — keyboards, turntables
Full member since 1999.
Delgado contributed to Adrenaline and Around the Fur as a guest before joining properly, and his full arrival coincides almost exactly with the band’s leap into White Pony — which is not a coincidence.
Everything atmospheric about modern Deftones runs through him. The washes, the samples, the texture that makes their records sound like they were recorded underwater in the best possible way. Remove Delgado from White Pony and you have a good heavy album. Leave him in and you have the record that changed what this band could be.
Fred Sablan — bass
Announced April 2022.
Sablan took the chair after Sergio Vega’s departure, and 2025’s Private Music is his studio debut with the band — he co-wrote it as well as playing on it, which is the part that matters. He wasn’t hired to reproduce someone else’s parts.
His background is broader than most people realise. He was Marilyn Manson’s bassist from July 2010 to June 2014, including Born Villain. He’s a founding member of the hardcore band Heavens Blade, and has played with Goon Moon, Chelsea Wolfe, Peter Hook and the Light, Marriages, 8mm and Kidneythieves.
That’s a résumé built on atmosphere and weight rather than technique for its own sake, which is exactly right for this band.
Where is Stephen Carpenter?
This is the question people actually type, so let’s answer it properly.
Stephen Carpenter has not performed with Deftones outside North America since 2022. He still plays US and Canadian dates — he was on stage in Vancouver for the Private Music tour opener — and he plays on every track of every album, including the newest one. He has not left the band and there is no indication he is going to.
He simply doesn’t fly to overseas shows.
What he has actually said
Two separate things are on the record, and most coverage collapses them into one. They shouldn’t be.
In 2020, on the Tin Foil Hat podcast, Carpenter made comments rejecting vaccines and asserting that the Earth is flat. He later told Rock Feed that he didn’t want to be in a foreign country where he might be required to take something he didn’t want. He stepped away from international touring in 2022, when travelling without vaccination was genuinely difficult.
In 2024, speaking to Rock Feed again, he said something that gets reported far less often: that he had already decided to stop touring internationally before the pandemic. He described longstanding anxiety around flying — that he used to fall asleep before takeoff as a coping mechanism, and eventually concluded he could either keep feeling that way every time, or stop doing it.
He was clear that it cost him something. In his words, he’s missing out on something he used to enjoy, and that was a tough thing to deal with. He also went out of his way to thank his bandmates for how they’d handled it — that they had his back.
What Chino says
In August 2025, Moreno was asked directly by Metal Hammer whether Carpenter had any plans to start flying again.
His answer: he doesn’t want to speak for him, and even if he could, he still doesn’t have an answer. Really he doesn’t. It’s still something he thinks Carpenter is figuring out. And if he does have an answer, Moreno said, it’d be great if one day he would share it.
Read that again. The singer of the band does not know why his founding guitarist won’t come on tour, and said so publicly, gently, in a national magazine.
Where I land on it
Two things are true at once and the internet is bad at holding both.
The 2020 comments were what they were, and Carpenter has never disowned them. Anyone who wants to hold that against him is entitled to.
But the anxiety he described in 2024 is a real thing that a lot of people live with, and it doesn’t become fake because the person describing it has said other things you disagree with. He gave a specific, plausible account of a specific problem, and he said it predated the pandemic. That deserves to be reported rather than skipped because it complicates a cleaner story.
What I’d say is this: Carpenter is a founding member who has appeared on every record this band has made, and there is no version of Deftones without those riffs. He’s also absent from stages in most of the world, indefinitely, with no explanation his own singer finds sufficient.
Both of those can sit next to each other. They currently do.
Who covers his parts
Lance Jackman and Shaun Lopez have both handled guitar duties on overseas dates. Lopez is a long-time Moreno collaborator — Far, and ††† (Crosses) with Chino — which makes him about as inside the tent as a stand-in can be.
Carpenter was also absent from a San Francisco show in front of 50,000 people headlined by System of a Down, which was the moment a lot of casual fans first noticed.
More on that — Deftones’ first set featuring Shaun Lopez on guitar, and our full breakdown of Carpenter’s touring situation.
The bass chair: Chi Cheng, Sergio Vega, Fred Sablan
Three men have held this position. It is not a normal band vacancy and it should not be written about like one.
Chi Cheng — 1988 to 2008
Cheng joined shortly after the band formed and played on the first five albums: Adrenaline, Around the Fur, White Pony, Deftones and Saturday Night Wrist.
His playing wasn’t flashy and was never meant to be. It carried weight. On the early records his bass isn’t underneath the songs, it’s holding them down, and you notice its absence far more than you ever noticed its presence.
On November 4, 2008, Cheng was a passenger in a car in Santa Clara, California, returning from his brother’s memorial service with his sister Mae. Their vehicle was struck by another travelling at around 60 miles per hour and flipped three times. Cheng was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected. Mae, who was belted and sustained minor injuries, held his head at the roadside until two off-duty paramedics stopped and intubated him — an intervention doctors later said kept him alive.
He never fully recovered. He remained in a coma, with periods of partial responsiveness — by 2010 he could move his hands, later his legs on command, and by 2012 he was able to return home. His mother Jeanne Marie kept fans updated through the One Love for Chi website throughout, and the band played benefit shows to help with the costs.
He died on April 13, 2013, of cardiac arrest. He was 42.
Moreno’s line about him has stayed with me since I first read it: since he was seventeen years old, he’d spent practically every day of his life with Chi.
Sergio Vega — 2009 to 2021
Vega, known for his work with Quicksand, stepped in after the accident and stayed for twelve years — Diamond Eyes, Koi No Yokan, Gore and Ohms.
That’s a very difficult job. He wasn’t replacing a man who’d quit; he was holding a chair for someone everyone hoped would come back, and then continuing to hold it after that hope ended. He did it with a good deal of grace, and the four records he played on include two of the band’s best.
He departed in 2021, citing contractual disagreements after more than a decade with the band.
Fred Sablan — 2022 to present
Sablan was announced in April 2022 and, three years on, is fully embedded — Private Music carries his co-writing credits, not just his playing.
He’s the third man to sit in that chair, and the first to make a record that’s genuinely his own rather than an inheritance.
Former members, in full
Chi Cheng — bass, backing vocals. 1988–2008. Died April 13, 2013. Sergio Vega — bass. 2009–2021.
That’s the complete list of departed members in nearly four decades, and it’s remarkably short. Deftones have had one line-up change that wasn’t a tragedy.
Note on touring musicians: Lance Jackman and Shaun Lopez have covered guitar on overseas dates since 2022. Neither is a member of the band.
Deftones lineup by album
Ten studio albums, three bassists, and the same three founders on every one.
Worth your time — every Deftones album ranked, and the bands worth trying if you’ve worn the catalogue out.
Eros: the album that leaked
For eighteen years this was the great unheard Deftones record. It isn’t any more.
Eros was begun in April 2008 as the follow-up to Saturday Night Wrist, with Chi Cheng on bass. When the accident happened in November, production stopped. In July 2009 the band announced they were shelving it indefinitely and starting fresh with Sergio Vega — that decision produced Diamond Eyes, and it’s the reason this band still exists.
At the point it was abandoned, only around six songs were finished. Moreno later estimated the instrumentals were 75 to 80 percent done and the lyrics roughly halfway.
Then in June 2026 it leaked. Eleven tracks from the sessions appeared on a message board, under what appear to be working titles: “Destiny,” “Brenda,” “Melanie,” “Smile,” “Margot,” “Candy,” “Sable,” “Electra,” “Trempest,” “Diamond” and “Briana.” Demos from the Ohms sessions surfaced at the same time, including an unreleased track called “Sensations.”
Only one of those songs had ever been public. “Smile” was officially released in 2014, on the first anniversary of Cheng’s death, and pulled from streaming services by the label shortly afterwards. It got its live debut five years later at the band’s own Dia de los Deftones festival in San Diego. Everything else on that leak had never been heard by anyone outside the band.
Moreno had told The Guardian in 2025 that it would most likely never see the light of day, because releasing it would mean going back to that period and resurrecting unfinished things. He added that “Dallas” was the only song anywhere near complete.
The fan reaction split cleanly and it’s a genuinely interesting argument. One side says respect the band’s wishes and don’t listen. The other says eighteen years of waiting earned them closure.
I understand both. I also think the second one is a rationalization — the band have said no, repeatedly, for eighteen years, and the reason they’ve said no is that the man playing bass on it never got to finish it. That isn’t a vault decision. It’s a grief decision.
But it’s out, a great many people have heard it, and pretending otherwise on a page like this would be dishonest.
TL;DR
- Current lineup: Chino Moreno (vocals, guitar), Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Abe Cunningham (drums), Frank Delgado (keyboards, turntables), Fred Sablan (bass).
- Founding members still in the band: Moreno, Carpenter and Cunningham, all from 1988.
- Fred Sablan was announced as bassist in April 2022 and made his studio debut on 2025’s Private Music, which he also co-wrote. He previously played bass for Marilyn Manson from 2010 to 2014.
- Stephen Carpenter has not played a show outside North America since 2022. He still plays US and Canadian dates and appears on every track of every album. Lance Jackman and Shaun Lopez cover his parts overseas.
- Chi Cheng, the original bassist, was catastrophically injured in a car accident on November 4, 2008 and died on April 13, 2013, aged 42.
- Sergio Vega held the bass chair from 2009 to 2021, departing over what he described as contractual disagreements.
- Most recent album: Private Music, released August 22, 2025.
- The shelved 2008 album Eros, recorded with Cheng, leaked online in June 2026 after eighteen years unreleased.
Deftones Members: Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the current members of Deftones?
Chino Moreno (lead vocals, guitar), Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Abe Cunningham (drums), Frank Delgado (keyboards, turntables) and Fred Sablan (bass). Moreno, Carpenter and Cunningham founded the band in Sacramento in 1988. Delgado became a full member in 1999 and Sablan joined in 2022.
Who is Deftones’ bassist?
Fred Sablan, announced in April 2022. He made his studio debut with the band on Private Music in 2025, which he co-wrote as well as played on. He was previously Marilyn Manson’s bassist from 2010 to 2014 and is a founding member of the hardcore band Heavens Blade.
What happened to Chi Cheng?
Deftones’ original bassist was catastrophically injured in a car accident on November 4, 2008 in Santa Clara, California. He was a passenger, was not wearing a seat belt, and was ejected when the vehicle flipped. He remained in a coma with periods of partial responsiveness and never returned to the band. He died of cardiac arrest on April 13, 2013, aged 42.
Why isn’t Stephen Carpenter touring with Deftones?
He stopped performing outside North America in 2022 and still plays US and Canadian dates. In 2020 he made comments rejecting vaccines and later said he didn’t want to travel abroad and face medical requirements. In a 2024 interview he said he had already decided to stop international touring before the pandemic, describing longstanding anxiety around flying. Chino Moreno said in 2025 that he does not have a full explanation and wishes Carpenter would share one.
Who is Shaun Lopez?
A guitarist and producer, formerly of Far and currently of ††† (Crosses) with Chino Moreno. He has covered guitar for Deftones on overseas dates since Carpenter stopped touring internationally, alongside Lance Jackman. Neither is an official member of the band.
Why did Sergio Vega leave Deftones?
Vega departed in 2021 after twelve years, citing contractual disagreements with the band. He had joined in 2009 following Chi Cheng’s accident and played on Diamond Eyes, Koi No Yokan, Gore and Ohms.
How many original members are still in Deftones?
Three: Chino Moreno, Stephen Carpenter and Abe Cunningham, all of whom have been in the band since it formed in Sacramento in 1988.
Did Deftones’ unreleased album Eros leak?
Yes. Eleven tracks from the shelved 2008 sessions, recorded with Chi Cheng, appeared online in June 2026 after eighteen years unreleased, alongside demos from the Ohms sessions. Only one song, “Smile,” had ever been made public — released in 2014 on the first anniversary of Cheng’s death and later pulled from streaming. The band had consistently said the material would likely never be released.
Three founders, thirty-eight years, ten albums and one empty chair that took a long time to fill. Where do you land on the Carpenter situation — and does an overseas Deftones show without him still count? Tell me below. And keep it locked on the Loaded Radio stream — follow Loaded Radio for daily rock and metal news.
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