Deftones guitarist Stephen Carpenter has pulled out of the band’s forthcoming UK and European tour dates.
The band are currently coming to the end of their North American tour but they are set to kick shows off in Europe next month in Germany on June 4 before they hit British shores for a huge slot at Download Festival followed by a concert at London’s O2 Kentish Town.
This afternoon (May 20) Carpenter posted a video message on Twitter explaining that he will not be joining the band for those shows and a replacement will stand in.
He said: “As much as I would love to be on the road with my brothers, playing for all of our incredible international fans, I have decided to remain playing domestically for now. With everything going on in the world, I’m just not ready to leave home and leave the country yet.
“I wish I can see each and every one of you, but for now, our good friend from Sacramento, Lance, will be fulfilling my duties. Although I’m watching from afar, I’ll be there in spirit with my Deftones family.”
A message from @Stefdodoubleg to our international fans: pic.twitter.com/QVT9Ds29lR
— Deftones (@deftones) May 20, 2022
It comes just months after Sergio Vega announced that he had officially left Deftones. The bassist had played with the iconic metal band since replacing former bassist Chi Cheng in 2009, but after rumours began to circulate of Vega’s departure, he later confirmed the news in a video message.
At the time, he opened up about his recent departure, saying he left the Californian alt-metal outfit because it didn’t offer him “a sense of belonging”.
Speaking on the Talk Toomey podcast, Vega alleged that he was never formally made an official member of the band. He explained: “Over the years, it started to become like ‘Hey I would really like to belong to this,’ and whenever it would come up, it was really more like they were good with the status quo.”
Deftones released their most recent album, ‘Ohms’, back in 2020. In a five-star review, NME‘s James McMahon called the band’s reunion with producer Terry Date “an album that’s as thrilling – and as emotional – as they have ever sounded”.
At Download Festival (June 10-12), the band will be joined by headliners KISS, Iron Maiden and Biffy Clyro, while Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes recently joined this year’s line-up.
