DEFTONES Singer Refuses To Apologize For Barbed Comments: 'I Was Talking Truth'

DEFTONES frontman Chino Moreno has refused to apologize for the barbed comments he's made in the press about KORN and his Summer Sanitarium tourmates METALLICA, LIMP BIZKIT and LINKIN PARK, saying that he was simply speaking the truth and insisting that he doesn't "give a shit" if anybody else was offended by his remarks.

"I am a nice guy, and I don't think people understand how many times I get asked questions about other bands," Moreno told Metal Edge magazine. "Most of the times, I don't answer them, because I want to talk about DEFTONES. I want to talk about my band, you know what I mean? I don't want to talk about other bands. I'm sure those other bands that were talked about haven't read [my comments] yet [at the time of this interview], but I heard that everybody was upset about it… I'm not here to make everybody happy, and I'm not here to upset anybody. I'm just doing what I'm doing, and they said I was talking 'trash'. I think I was talking just truth, and the way I perceive it. It might not be true to them, but it's the way I feel. And if you are going to ask me if I think my band is heavier than METALLICA, what am I going to say, 'No'? I mean, fuck! I have faith in my band, and I look at what we do, and especially when we are on a tour like [Summer Sanitarium], it's competition. We have to go out there, and we have to be strong, and we have to be confident in what we do — that's basically it. I mean, I wouldn't say anything personal against anybody, because I don't have any beef with anybody. If they have beef with me, that's fine — whatever — but it's not like that at all. It's strictly music talking."

With regards to whether any of the other bands confronted him personally about his comments, Moreno said, "Management companies were calling our management saying, 'What's he doing? What's he doing?' I don't give a shit, really. . . I mean, it sucks, because that's not what I want our shit to be about, especially when we have a new record coming out. I want to talk about my record. I don't want to talk about other bands, because honestly, I don't listen to those other bands. It's kind of pointless."

When asked if the fact that the DEFTONES were second on the bill at Summer Sanitarium had contributed to his frustration, Chino said, "Yeah. . . I think that is what sparked a lot of my initial anger, because I was against doing that whole thing [Summer Sanitarium] in the first place, then they started asking me, 'What do you think about…' Then I started thinking about the shitty position we had on that tour, and that we are opening for these other bands. I mean, honestly, I'm sure [LIMP BIZKIT and LINKIN PARK] would be a band [if it weren't for us] — maybe I went too far by saying that [laughing], but fuck it! I don't give a shit. Honestly, I was outvoted — [DEFTONES sampler/keyboardist] Frank [Delgado] and I didn't want to do the tour. When we are coming out of the box with a new record, I don't want to go out and be associated with everything that we tried so hard to distance ourselves from, you know what I mean? I just wanted to go out and do what we do, and then eventually, maybe next summer, it would have been okay. But that's just my opinion. That's just the way I feel about it. But I will go out there and I will pummel that shit every night, because that's all I can do, you know what I mean?"