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Deftones delivered a towering MSG show with The Mars Volta & Fleshwater – review, setlists
From their tones to their urgency to their image to the stunning lights and visuals to the timeless songs themselves, Deftones made a 30-year-spanning setlist feel like it came from the future.
2025 marks the 30th anniversary of Deftones’ debut album, and somehow the band feels more popular, more influential, and more current than ever. Between the re-evaluation of nu metal and the resurgence of shoegaze, Deftones have found themselves at the center of multiple musical renaissances. There are so many newer bands channeling their sound throughout metal, shoegaze, and hardcore that “Deftones-y” has basically become its own subgenre. As evidenced by the cast of remixers and reimaginers on the 20th anniversary edition of 2000’s classic White Pony, their influence extends to electronic music as well. Maybe there’s a little luck or happenstance contributing to Deftones being repositioned this way so far into their career, but it wouldn’t be happening at all if Deftones didn’t stick to their guns through multiple artistic left turns, no matter how out of step they might’ve seemed at the time. That’s how you become ahead of your time: by refusing to play by anyone else’s rules.
Their enduring power was on full display when they brought their 2025 tour to Madison Square Garden on Thursday night (4/3), marking their first time headlining the world’s most famous arena, after playing second of three on a bill with Alice In Chains and Mastodon back in 2010. They kicked things right into full gear by opening with the one-two punch of Around the Fur (1997) classics “Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)” and “My Own Summer (Shove It),” and then went on to play a set that touched on every era of their 30-year career, from their ‘95 debut Adrenaline up through their most recent album, 2020’s Ohms. And if you didn’t know any better, you’d never guess the setlist spanned such a lengthy period. Everything about their set seemed fully in the now, if not even a little futuristic. From their tones to their urgency to their image to the stunning lights and visuals to the timeless songs themselves, this was the total opposite of a rock nostalgia fest. It was fitting that the crowd was full of multiple generations of fans (on top of being one of the more diverse crowds you’ll find at an arena rock/metal show); this is a band that’s been making new fans at every turn. The only thing they didn’t play was any music from the much-teased new album that we’re expecting to learn more about in the near future, but even just by playing a career-spanning set they raised the already-high expectations for that album. You can just tell that this is a band that still has more to say, whether they’re playing a decades-old classic or a new one.
That new generation of “Deftones-y” bands was represented not just in spirit but on this very bill, with an opening set from Fleshwater, whose mix of shoegaze, grunge, and post-hardcore fits perfectly with Deftones. A lot of people were still finding their seats during Fleshwater’s 7PM set, but the floor was already packed in, and judging by the mosh pits that broke out, it seemed like the Deftones crowd very much appreciated what they were seeing. The band opened up with their new single “Standalone” before playing a set of tracks from their 2022 debut album We’re Not Here To Be Loved, and Fleshwater clearly came ready to show the early crowd why they deserved to be there.
Speaking of not relying on nostalgia, the second band of the night was fellow veteran band The Mars Volta, and instead of playing a single song any of us had ever heard before, they opted to perform their upcoming album Lucro Sucio; Los Ojos del Vacio in full ahead of its April 11 release. If you hadn’t heard they’ve been doing this the entire tour, you wouldn’t have known what you were seeing–the band didn’t say a word about it on stage. It’s an unlikely move for a band providing direct support on an arena tour, and that’s what made it such a good fit with the Deftones. Like the headliners, here was a band that’s always marched to the beat of their own drum. And as fun as it would’ve been to hear some Mars Volta classics, the set they did play had me entranced from start to finish. It seems like the new album finds them really leaning into their psychedelic rock side, not as serene as their 2022 self-titled album but still with less prog freakouts than their early work, more A Saucerful of Secrets than In the Court of the Crimson King. Naturally, that kind of thing suits this band very well, and adding to the trippy allure of it all was frequent collaborator Teri Gender Bender basically sharing lead vocal duties with Cedric Bixler-Zavala, harmonizing with him on every song. The Mars Volta still haven’t even released a single from the new album, but this set left me very excited to hear it when it drops next week.
Check out Deftones and The Mars Volta’s setlist and some videos from the show below, and stay tuned for photos coming very soon.
Deftones @ Madison Square Garden – 4/3/2025 Setlist (via)
Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)
My Own Summer (Shove It)
Diamond Eyes
Tempest
Swerve City
Feiticeira
Digital Bath
Prayers/Triangles
You’ve Seen the Butcher
Rocket Skates
Sextape
Around the Fur
Headup
Rosemary
Hole in the Earth
Change (In the House of Flies)
Genesis
Minerva
Bored
7 Words
The Mars Volta @ Madison Square Garden – 4/3/2025 Setlist (via)
Fin
Reina tormenta
Enlazan las tinieblas
Mictlán
Nefilibata
Cue the Sun
Alba del orate
Voice in My Knives
Poseedora de mi sombra
Celaje
Vociferó
Mito de los trece cielos
Un disparo al vacío
Detrás de la puerta dorada
Maullidos
Morgana
Cue the Sun (Reprise)
Lucro sucio
