Deftones Eros Leaked: Listen to All 11 Tracks (2026)

On June 23, 2026, Deftones' mythical lost album Eros - recorded in 2008 and shelved after bassist Chi Cheng's devastating car accident - leaked online after 18 years. Deftones have been my fav band for as long as I can remember, and hearing Chi Cheng play bass one last time hit me in a way I wasn't ready for. All recordings are the sole property of Deftones and Warner Music Group.

Listen to Deftones Eros - All Eleven Tracks

Musically, Eros is nearly complete - the compositions are fully formed, the arrangements locked in. What's missing is the final polish: these recordings were never mixed or mastered, and Chino's vocals are still works in progress on several tracks. You'll hear raw textures, unprocessed layers, moments where the studio itself bleeds through. But that rawness is part of what makes this leak so powerful - there's no production veil between you and the band. This is Chino Moreno, Stephen Carpenter, Chi Cheng, Abe Cunningham, and Frank Delgado playing together with nothing to hide behind, and the chemistry is transcendent.

Why Was Deftones Eros Never Released?

To understand Eros, you need to understand what Deftones went through between 2006 and 2009. The band's internal dynamics had reached a breaking point during the recording of Saturday Night Wrist. Members resorted to emailing recorded parts to each other instead of collaborating in the studio. Chino Moreno left mid-recording for a three-month Team Sleep tour. The band called this era "the Dark Days" - a period when the future of Deftones was genuinely uncertain.

But something remarkable happened before the Saturday Night Wrist tour. Management held a pivotal meeting where all five members unanimously recommitted to the band. The creative chemistry reignited. By May 2007, they were jamming backstage between tour dates, writing with a renewed intensity. They transformed their Los Angeles studio - The Spot - into a clubhouse, building a bar where members socialized before playing. It was a deliberate return to their garage-band origins. No ProTools. No overthinking. Just five musicians in a room, making the heaviest music of their careers.

The Eros Recording Sessions (2008)

Recording began on April 14, 2008, with producer Terry Date - their first collaboration since 2003's self-titled album and a reunion that signaled the band's creative rebirth. Engineer Scott Olson captured what would become some of the most raw and experimental material in Deftones' catalog.

Chino Moreno made a defining creative decision: he relinquished guitar entirely to focus solely on vocals, giving Stephen Carpenter full control over the guitar compositions. The result was heavier, more expansive, and more energetic than anything since White Pony. Carpenter's contributions were described as both "energetic" and "dance-y," while Revolver magazine compared early sessions to Pink Floyd's "lengthy spaced-out songs, psychedelic vibes and plenty of jamming." The working title "Eros" was publicly announced in January 2008, and all song titles were named after strippers - an inside joke from touring Germany.

By early November 2008, instrumentals were roughly 75-80% complete. Moreno's vocals were about half done. Around six songs were fully tracked. The band estimated six more months of work. They documented everything - five studio update videos and a production blog, a first in their career. The track "Melanie" was even debuted live in September 2008. Everything pointed toward a landmark release that would cement Deftones' legacy as one of the most fearless bands of their generation.

Then, on November 4, 2008, everything stopped.

Chi Cheng's Accident - November 4, 2008

Chi Cheng was returning from his brother's memorial service, traveling as a passenger with his sister Mae in Santa Clara, California. Their vehicle was struck by another car traveling at 60 mph, causing it to flip three times. Cheng was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected from the vehicle. Mae, who was buckled in, sustained only minor injuries. Two off-duty paramedics happened upon the scene and performed emergency tracheal intubation - doctors later confirmed this intervention saved Cheng's life.

Cheng entered a coma. All production on Eros halted immediately. Moreno had just left the studio after recording vocal tracks that very same day - November 4 was the last day of active Eros recording.

What followed were years of agonizing uncertainty. The band played two benefit shows at Avalon Hollywood on November 19-20, with proceeds going to the Chi Ling Cheng Special Needs Trust. A fundraising website - oneloveforchi.com - launched in March 2009. Quicksand bassist Sergio Vega was brought in for festival appearances. In April 2009, Cheng was readmitted to the ICU with near-fatal sepsis. He underwent skull surgery in August 2009 to relieve intracranial pressure. Between 2010 and 2012, he showed gradual signs of improvement - tracking visually, occasional verbal responses, moving his legs on command. Hope persisted.

On April 13, 2013, Chi Cheng died of sudden cardiac arrest at approximately 3:00 AM at a hospital in French Camp, California. He was 42 years old. His mother reported: "His heart just suddenly stopped." The bass world lost one of its most distinctive voices, and Deftones lost a brother.

Why Deftones Shelved Eros Indefinitely

In the summer of 2009, Deftones made what they described as a "purely creative" decision to shelve Eros indefinitely. They needed to write something optimistic - music that could help them process their crisis rather than preserve it in amber. They held onto the hope that Cheng would recover before any Eros material saw the light of day. That forward-looking energy became Diamond Eyes, released in May 2010 with Sergio Vega on bass.

Over the following decade, band members sent mixed signals about the album's fate. In May 2013, Moreno said the likelihood of release was "greater than ever." By 2016, after Gore, his enthusiasm had waned: "I wasn't too happy with the material we had... some of the music was lacking a little bit." Finishing the album would require Vega learning Chi's bass parts - something the band found deeply uncomfortable. In 2021, Moreno revealed he hadn't opened the Eros session files since 2008: "If I put those on, it was gonna take me back to that time, which I didn't want to be in."

The ethical weight is immense. Eros contains Chi Cheng's final recorded performances - his last bass lines before the accident that would ultimately claim his life five years later. The sessions captured a band that, for perhaps the first time since White Pony, sounded genuinely happy together. Releasing that material means reopening the most painful chapter in the band's history. It means letting the world hear something that was never intended to be heard in its unfinished state. In 2020, drummer Abe Cunningham expressed dissatisfaction with the recording quality but floated the idea of an EP format for the completed tracks. In January 2025, Cunningham discussed a potential box set combining Eros songs with unreleased Saturday Night Wrist demos.

But in August 2025, in an interview with The Guardian, Moreno delivered what many fans took as the final word: "It will most likely never see the light of day. That would involve going back to that period and resurrecting unfinished things, and somehow bringing them to completion. Dallas is the only song that was anywhere near finished."

Ten months later, the internet made the decision for them.

The Leak: June 23, 2026

On the morning of June 23, 2026, eleven tracks from the Eros sessions appeared on a message board. By the time ThePRP reported the news - calling it "a wild morning" - copies had already begun spreading across YouTube, Reddit's r/deftones community, and file-hosting platforms worldwide. The original forum post was quickly deleted and the forum locked, but containment was already impossible.

Copyright representatives deployed aggressive DMCA takedowns across YouTube and file-hosting platforms within hours. The recordings were taken down repeatedly, but fans continued downloading and re-uploading at a pace that outstripped every enforcement effort. The leak also included demo and B-side tracks from the 2020 Ohms sessions, including a previously unheard track called "Sensations."

Notably absent from the leak was "Dallas" - the one track Moreno had specifically identified as "the only song that was anywhere near finished." Its omission remains unexplained, though fans have noted that the leaked track "Briana" may be a related or alternate version. As of this writing, neither Deftones nor Warner Music Group have issued any public statement regarding the leak's authenticity. The DMCA takedowns, however, speak for themselves.

Deftones Eros Tracklist - Track-by-Track

All working titles on Eros were named after strippers - an inside joke from the band's time touring Germany. Here is what we know about each composition:

• Destiny - Opens the album with the atmospheric, heavy sound that defined these sessions. Carpenter's guitar work sets the tone for what would have been Deftones' darkest and most expansive record.
• Brenda - One of the most emotionally affecting tracks in the leak. One fan wrote: "I'm not sorry for the tears that almost rolled down my face from hearing Brenda." Even unfinished, the emotional weight is overwhelming.
• Melanie - The only Eros track debuted live before Cheng's accident, performed at shows starting September 2008. Hearing the studio version after 18 years of only knowing the live recording is a revelation.
• Smile - The most complete track on the album. On April 13, 2014 - the first anniversary of Chi Cheng's death - Moreno partnered with Shaun Lopez (Crosses, Far) to finalize and upload "Smile" to Deftones' YouTube channel. Warner Music Group removed it within two days citing copyright infringement. The band performed it live at Dia de los Deftones in November 2019.
• Margot - A mid-album deep cut showcasing the experimental direction Carpenter was exploring with full creative control over the guitar arrangements.
• Candy - Reflects the "dance-y" uptempo energy that Carpenter brought to the Eros sessions, a side of Deftones rarely heard in their catalog.
• Sable - One of the more atmospheric compositions, showcasing Frank Delgado's keyboard and sample work alongside Cheng's bass lines.
• Electra - Features the heavier end of the Eros spectrum, with Carpenter's guitar and Cunningham's drums driving the track forward with relentless intensity.
• Trempest - One of the tracks referenced in pre-leak discussions about the album's contents. The title evokes the tempestuous creative energy of the 2008 sessions.
• Diamond - The working title raises questions about whether this material influenced or evolved into the band's 2010 album Diamond Eyes, written as a creative response to Cheng's accident.
• Briana - Possibly the same song as "Dallas," which Moreno described as "big sounding, real mid-tempo" and "the only song that was anywhere near finished." If Briana and Dallas are indeed the same track, this is the most complete composition on the album.

What Do Fans Think About the Deftones Eros Leak?

The leak ignited one of the most passionate ethical debates in modern music fandom. The Deftones community - particularly on Reddit's r/deftones - found itself deeply split between those who felt listening was a tribute to Chi's legacy and those who saw it as a violation of the band's explicit wishes.

Those opposed to listening argued from a place of deep respect. "They chose to bury this record and make Diamond Eyes because they needed to heal and move on from their darkest era," one fan wrote. "Forcing this into the light goes completely against what the band wanted." Another pointed out: "These files are literally the ghost of their best friend. Reopening this stuff is probably incredibly painful for them."

On the other side, fans argued that Chi Cheng's final performances deserved to be heard. "Chi is a legend and his final performance should be out there for the world to admire," one wrote. Others described the experience in deeply personal terms: "Do I feel guilty for listening? Yes. Can I die a little more at peace knowing I heard it? Also yes."

Musically, the consensus was striking: even unfinished, Eros revealed a band operating at an extraordinary level. One reviewer noted that "for perhaps the first time since White Pony, the band sounds happy together," but added that "combined with the tragic fate of Cheng and the unfinished state, it makes for a bittersweet listen, with Chino's voice sounding more poignant than on any other Deftones album." Smile and Brenda were singled out as fan favorites among the leaked tracks.

Is Deftones Eros One of the Greatest Unreleased Albums Ever?

Even before the leak, Eros had achieved legendary status. The album appeared on virtually every "greatest unreleased albums" list compiled in the past decade: Kerrang!'s "12 Rock And Metal Albums That Never Were" (2019), Metal Hammer's "The Greatest Metal Records That Never Were" (2019), Stereogum's "45 Lost Albums We Want To Hear" (2021), Metal Injection's "10 Albums We're Still Patiently Waiting For" (2024), and Screen Rant's "10 Legendary Unreleased Albums" (2025). The leak transforms Eros from speculation into artifact - a document of what might have been Deftones' most ambitious work.

The timing is significant. The leak arrived just ten months after Deftones released Private Music in August 2025 - their Grammy-nominated tenth album and first featuring new bassist Fred Sablan. With the band already in heavy cultural rotation, the Eros leak hit at the exact moment when interest in Deftones' legacy was at an all-time high. Every major music outlet covered the story: Loudwire, Stereogum, Consequence of Sound, Louder, Metal Hammer, Billboard, NME, Happy Mag, and dozens more.

Who Played on Deftones Eros? Full Personnel List

• Chino Moreno - vocals (dropped guitar to focus solely on vocals, defining the album's direction)
• Stephen Carpenter - guitars (given full creative control, producing his most experimental work)
• Chi Cheng - bass guitar (his final recordings before the November 2008 accident)
• Abe Cunningham - drums
• Frank Delgado - keyboards, turntables, samples
• Terry Date - producer (reunited with the band for the first time since 2003)
• Scott Olson - audio engineer

Copyright & Legal Disclaimer

All recordings featured on this page are the exclusive intellectual property of Deftones, Warner Music Group, and Reprise Records. These recordings were created under the band's contract with Maverick/Warner Records during the 2008 recording sessions at The Spot, Los Angeles, California. The material is protected under applicable copyright law regardless of its official release status - unreleased recordings carry the same legal protections as commercially released works.

This page is a non-commercial fan tribute and informational resource published under fair use principles for purposes of commentary, criticism, and education (17 U.S.C. § 107). No ownership of the recordings is claimed or implied. The audio files presented here were obtained from third-party sources following the public leak of June 23, 2026. This page does not profit from and has no affiliation with the original leak. If the rights holders wish to have this content removed, please contact the site administrator and the material will be taken down promptly in compliance with any DMCA or equivalent request.

We strongly encourage all listeners to support Deftones by purchasing their officially released music through authorized channels. The band's complete discography - including Adrenaline (1995), Around the Fur (1997), White Pony (2000), Deftones (2003), Saturday Night Wrist (2006), Diamond Eyes (2010), Koi No Yokan (2012), Gore (2016), Ohms (2020), and Private Music (2025) - is available on all major streaming and purchasing platforms. Support the artists whose work moves you.