Deftones will be releasing Gore on April 8 and everyone seems pretty stoked on the release. Everyone except for guitarist Stephen Carpenter, that is. In an interview with Ultimate Guitar, Carpenter says that throughout the writing process, he wasn't too keen on the album's direction. He said, at first he didn't even want to play on the record:
He said, at first he didn't even want to play on the record:
I think my proudest thing about my guitar playing on this record is just playing on the record because I didn't want to play on the record to begin with. It wasn't until way later once I actually got into it. I look at all the songs on the record and they were all a challenge for me to get in to.
He continued…
“When we were coming up with ideas and writing the songs, the stuff that was being written, you know, the other guys’ ideas, I wasn’t too interested in it. It wasn’t the style or the sound I was hoping we would take. It wasn’t what I was expecting or wanting."
That sounds pretty tame, right? Carpenter just doesn't like the material much, which is fair. The next part is where things get relatively serious, especially when Carpenter admits that he feels like the band is starting to leave him behind in terms of a new direction.
“I would never leave the band that I started but the band started leaving me, I can’t control that.”
“I mean, I have a great time for the most part. This record has been a struggle and we have got issues that I do not want to leave home but how things will be in the future, I do not know. But I know what I will do and what I will not do and there are some things that I will not do in the future because I just don’t agree with it.”
It doesn't seem like Carpenter has any plans of quitting the band, but it sure does seem like he needs a new creative outlet. With Chino having a few side projects, perhaps Carpenter can expand into other realms of music as well..