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Deftones are a part of an elite few that have found a consistent success in their career over the course of three decades, constantly evolving their sound and refusing to be pigeonholed into a specific genre of heavy music.


After a four year wait since their last record Gore, the band's 9th studio record Ohms will finally arrive on September 25, and we were given the opportunity to catch up with bassist Sergio Vega - a permanent Deftones member since 2009 and founder of the long-standing post-hardcore band Quicksand.


Read on for our full chat with Sergio, where he tell us about his contributions to Ohms, a great Big Day Out story and more:

Hey Sergio, how are you man? Are things still on lockdown in New York?


Absolutely. I mean, the stay at home order was lifted some time ago, but we're still keeping it very tight.


Well let's talk about the new record 'Ohms', which is what everyone's excited about - how was it for you to work on a Deftones album with Terry Date for the first time?


It was absolutely amazing. I got to know him over the past few years from dinners and hanging out on a social level. Since I do a lot of home recording, I really enjoyed picking his brain about his recording process and production approach, and working with him definitely exceeded my expectations. Both as a bass player, recording vocals with him and writing songs around him - it's all just been incredible.


Chino, Stephen and Abe initially hung out together to hash out ideas for 'Ohms', but were you still able to contribute as much as you have on previous records?


Yeah! I mean, they just got together because they were all in town together, so they just jammed because they were there. I honestly had forgotten about it because it was just like "hey we're in town let's get together and start this thing off".


But yeah, I still do home recording, demos - some of those demos make the record - bring riffs in, you know, we compose together. My contributions have been basically the same from Diamond Eyes until now. In Diamond Eyes, I wasn't really at that point where I was sending in home demos, but shortly after with Koi No Yokan, I was bringing the entirety of my skillset to the table.


I play a few instruments, so I find when you have a song idea, just sending in a bass line makes it hard to 'get'. So I program drums, add guitars and keyboards, and just kind of flesh out the entire thing so you can visualise the idea in a more succinct manner.


Deftones fans might be some of the most rabid and dedicated on the planet, with very strong opinions about every new record. Does that make you nervous about how it will be received when it drops?


Nope. I'm learning from that perspective that to be concerned about that (fan opinion) is backwards. You present your best self and let people do what they want with it. Appreciate the fact that there's the interest, and appreciate the fact you're a part of something that has created a lore, and also some sort of an enigma that people feel compelled to figure out.


Sometimes it's fun to read comments and stuff, and just see for the most part, that the most outspoken people are the most off base.


Are you someone who likes to listen to older records you've put out for writing inspiration or just to check out again, or do you just drop it and move forward straight away?


Definitely not for writing inspiration (laughs). I don't want to mime a past self. But what I do like to do is listen to them to practice along with. And because songs do keep evolving or morphing, sometimes it's good to stay rooted in the recorded versions so that you kind of know what's happening and you can understand the way songs have evolved since then.


But I do a lot of practicing to the recorded versions, especially since we live apart, and I want to stay sharp.


Do you prefer the writing and recording process then, or the touring aspect of things?


You know, I think as far as there being different facets to being in a band, I love them all equally. I love writing, I love the idea of sparking a new idea, presenting an idea and seeing people be excited about it, and I'm ok if they're not. I also love hearing someone else's idea and being excited myself, and adding to it. I just love the spark of where an idea is created and shaping that into a song.


And then when you get to that point and you're recording, I consider that whole part to be a different animal and separate from the writing phase, even though there's still additional writing being done while recording.


But then even after it all when you get to review the record, I even enjoy making videos and stuff. It's all fun. Touring is great to be able to take the songs people have heard and have that unique experience with them. So it's all awesome.


Do you have any particular fond memories of touring Australia with either Deftones or Quicksand?


Um...I think it's a lot of the social aspects - I mean, playing the shows are always awesome, but like...(laughs) I don't know if it sounds silly, but like, as a vegan I love the food and hanging out, finding out about Lord Of The Fries and going to get a couple of burgers from there, that's my jam!


There's a story floating around that you almost accidentally knocked a cameraman off the stage during a Deftones set at Big Day Out one year! Is it true?


Oh yeah, I almost knocked the cameraman off the stage...I'm not proud of that but it's true.


What happened there?


Okay, so you know how they have a cameraman on stage recording for the live feed for the screens on the side? I think what happened at a certain point was they were so concerned with getting a particular shot that they were so in the way, and as a very kinetic band it became a little bit frustrating because the guy had parked himself right in front of me, and I felt like it had reached a point where there was no real sensitivity.


So I was like, "I'm just gonna give him a little check", and I gave him just a small bump with my shoulder, and I wasn't really thinking about the weight of his camera or the precarious position he was in. So he kind of started to tilt, and we looked into each other's soul at that point. I was like "oh my god, this is really bad". I think it was during the song 'Engine No. 9' - which is funny, because I don't really have great recall, but I remember that.


He's just looking at me, and I'm looking at him while I'm still trying to play, and I can sort of see people gather at the edge of the stage to try and catch him - keep in mind it's pretty high up!


So I'm just fretting with my left hand and I grab him and pull him back. I just whispered in his ear "I am so sorry", then we went about our business. But we actually saw each other in the airport at the next flight, where I apologised again but he was really stoked. It was a pretty intense moment and I felt pretty bad.


Was it that he was stoked that you saved him?


I don't know! We had a heart to heart about it but it was a lot of adrenaline. I'm still pissed that he got in my way like that but I didn't need to be doing all that.


Well it's a great story, and hopefully we didn't bring up any bad memories asking you about it!


No it's funny! I don't think about it too much but it's a funny story.


Lastly, a lot of people reading this were probably super bummed that Download Australia got canned one week out from the pandemic - do you have anything you would like to tell your Aussie fans?


Yeah we were obviously bummed as well. I was really looking forward to that trip, It's one of my favourite places to be...we were packed and ready to go to the airport, and it was the night prior that I got the call to not go...but I want everyone to stay safe, stay healthy and make sure we're in a good position to see each other again soon!

Pre-order Deftones - 'Ohms' here

Deftones - 'Ohms' Tracklisting:


01 - Genesis

02 - Ceremony

03 - Urantia

04 - Error

05 - The Spell of Mathematics

06 - Pompeji

07 - The Link Is Dead

08 - Radiant City

09 - Headless

10 - Ohms

Listen to Deftones now.