Deftones | Weezer | Excessive Vis | HEALTH | Qendresa
Crystal Palace Park, London
twenty ninth June 2025
Deftones smash via their greatest UK headline up to now with an enormous, career-spanning set that sends shockwaves throughout the capital.
Crystal Palace Park is scorching. It’s 2pm on the most popular day of the 12 months and the competition queue is already snaking from the Italian Terraces to the practice station. These followers are eager.
Opening the afternoon is R&B singer Qendresa. The artist’s electronic-tinged soul may appear barely misplaced on at this time’s punk/alt-metal lineup nevertheless it’s an awesome soundtrack to ease us in gently. The calm earlier than the storm, maybe…
HEALTH comply with and stomp out a shocking set of commercial glitch and post-apocalyptic electronica. The juxtaposition of Jake Duzsik’s ethereal vocal gliding over blasts of metallic beats and darkish textures hits with astonishing drive. Bassist John Famiglietti thrashes his hair like a person possessed, unleashing a ferocious low-end groove that drives the relentless assault.
Because the temperatures rises, Excessive Vis serve up 45 sweaty minutes of unapologetic post-punk that punches via the warmth with intense hooks and trustworthy grit. Discuss For Hours crashes straight into Altitude, as they flip seamlessly between hardcore and ’80s-style melodic indie. Frontman Graham Sayle races across the stage, weaving sharp socio-political commentary into the songs – that is music with coronary heart and chew. Hold your eyes on these guys – they’re about to blow up.
Because the solar begins to set Weezer roll via a set of breezy alt-rock favourites. We’re handled to all of the classics – Island In The Solar and Vacation, then dig again into the Blue Album with Say It Ain’t So and Buddy Holly to spherical issues off. It’s pure nostalgia-fuel, and the group laps it up. Good instances.
Anticipation hits fever pitch, and at 8.15pm Deftones burst onto stage in a blaze of power. Opening with Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away), the Sacarmento five-piece ignite a tidal wave of emotion throughout the huge area. The anthemic My Personal Summer time (Shove It) follows; its brutal, driving riffs tear via the South London air whereas frontman Chino Moreno screams the refrain like his life’s depends upon it.
“We had been saving ourselves for you!”, Moreno shares, alluding to their cancelled Glastonbury set the day earlier than. Right this moment he’s again on peak type – leaping, screaming, and hurling himself in opposition to the barrier.
The entire setlist is Deftones gold, with hit after hit (Diamond Eyes, Tempest, Swerve Metropolis, Digital Bathtub). Sextape chills the group, and instantly hundreds of voices raise Moreno into ecstatic refrain.
Lead guitarist Stephen Carpenter could also be absent however tour stand-in Lance Jackman shreds with precision and there’s completely no drop in power. Razor-edged riffs explode into dreamy euphoria, Frank Delgado’s synth traces soar, whereas Abe Cunningham’s drums punish in terrifying waves. It’s unsettling, it’s lovely, it’s pure Deftones – I swear even the enduring Crystal Palace tower is shaking.
Genesis from 2021’s Ohms closes the primary set; the observe that appears to encapsulate the whole lot the band does finest: magnificence colliding with brutality. The night time lastly climaxes with a thunderous three-song encore (Minerva, Bored, and seven Phrases), and as they take their ultimate bow, a lot of the 25,000-strong crowd stands shocked, mouths agape – drained, ecstatic…blown away.
This night’s present isn’t only a journey down reminiscence lane, it’s proof Deftones are nonetheless a serious drive, and their greatest UK headline present up to now is strictly that: MASSIVE.
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Extra from Deftones could be discovered on their web site, Fb and Instagram.
All pictures & phrases © Paul Grace. For extra of Paul’s writing and pictures go to his archive. Paul is on Fb, Twitter, Instagram, and his web sites are www.paulgrace-eventphotos.co.uk & www.pgrace.co.uk
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