Deftones conquered the Eden Sessions with an electric, era-spanning set that shook the iconic biomes – and Cornwall – to its very core, writes Tom Howe.
Supported by High Vis – who labelled Eden Project as the ‘maddest place’ they had ever been – the Californians showed just why tickets for their maiden visit to Cornwall were like goldust.
Roaring onto the stage at dead on 9.00 pm, with none of the ‘fashionably late’ vibes of some of their contemporaries, Chino Moreno et al put on one of the all time great Eden Session performances.
The second in a four-stop UK tour, one that includes dates at Glastonbury (Saturday) and another sold-out concert at Crystal Palace Park (Sunday), was met by a standing ovation before a note had even been played.
The alternative metallers took it back to 1998 for their opening track, ‘Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)’, which showed the generational appeal of a band now twenty years removed from the release of their first album.
Moreno’s roaring lyrics were met word for word by a devoted audience, who he had in the palm of his hand and who were delighted to witness Deftones’ first UK visit in three years.
They didn’t hesitate before diving into their riff-heavy debut single, ‘My Own Summer (Shove It)’. Moreno used the stage like a sprinter on an athletics track – pacing, prowling, and connecting with every corner of the crowd as if old friends reunited after a time apart.
At one point, he paused with caution to say ‘everybody, please look out for each other – I want everybody to stay safe’ before launching into an anthemic final chorus of ‘shove it, shove it, shove it…’ to the bedlam unfolding ahead of him.
There was an incredible power in seeing one man at the microphone – Moreno – standing before thousands, flanked by three of his bandmates. The intimacy of their setup and how close they were to their fans, combined with the band’s raw, magnetic presence, created something monumental.
Behind them, the stage visuals danced and shifted, melding perfectly with the beautiful biomes, and, as the energy from the stage pulsed outwards, it was met by energy from the sky above.
Without warning, rain began to fall – not heavy or harsh but gentle, like a nod from Mother Nature herself. It was a perfect, poetic touch – a pathetic fallacy in the garden of Eden – that somehow made the moment feel even more unforgettable.
This was the third act of an impressive Eden Sessions line-up for 2025 that continues with:
Wednesday 9th & Thursday 10th July – Biffy Clyro plus Nova Twins
Saturday July 12th – Madness plus Rhoda Dakar
Sunday July 13th – The Libertines plus special guests
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