THE ANNOUNCEMENT
Eleven tracks claiming to be Deftones' shelved *Eros* album just hit the internet after 18 years in the vault — except nobody can tell if they're real or AI-faked. The vocals sound complete, which contradicts everything the band said about the record being unfinished when Chi Cheng's 2008 car accident forced them to shelve it forever.
THE DETAILS
- A YouTube user named Killarrex posted approximately eleven full tracks with vocals
- *Eros* was recorded in 2007–2008 as the follow-up to *Saturday Night Wrist* but never released
- Chi Cheng suffered a severe brain injury on November 4, 2008, remained minimally conscious for years, and died April 13, 2013
- The band shelved *Eros* because finishing it without Chi was unthinkable, then recorded *Diamond Eyes* with Sergio Vega in 2010
- Physical copies were reportedly being sold a month before the online leak
- Fans are flagging portions as AI-generated — voice-cloning tools in 2026 can fake vocals over real instrumentals
- No confirmation from Deftones or Warner Records
LISTEN HERE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A77kkryt-Y
WHY IT MATTERS
WE'RE SKEPTICAL — at least until someone proves it's real. The band explicitly said Chino hadn't finished vocals, yet these tracks arrive fully sung, and AI voice cloning is good enough now to fool casual listeners. This smells like someone ran leaked instrumentals through a Chino Moreno voice model and called it a day. We hope we're wrong.