Deftones Almost Changed Their Name Before Signing To A Label

Deftones almost changed their name to Engine No. 9 before signing to a label in the early '90s. Former Roadrunner Records executive Monte Conner recalled the story in a lengthy, since-deleted Facebook post (transcribed by The PRP).

“In the summer of 1993, I was sent a Deftones demo by their manager Dave Park… I was instantly blown away; their music was like nothing I had ever heard before,” he recalled. “While these days the band are commonly grouped with Korn as the founders of Nu Metal, I never viewed their sound as similar to Korn, or any of the other bands that very quickly put Nu Metal on the map as a genre. The Deftones had their own unique sound right from the start.”

However, he was hesitant to sign them under their current moniker. “In 1993, after seeing ‘def’ added to the dictionary, Rick Rubin, the arbiter of all things hip, decided the word had lost its cool factor, and made the bold move of changing the name of his highly successful record label,” he explained. “More importantly, at the same exact time, there was a full-blown ska movement happening in America with bands like The Mighty Mighty Bosstones… To me, the ‘tones’ part of the band’s name made them sound like a ska band.”

Conner admitted that a stipulation of the deal was for the band to change its name. And they actually were open to it, opting for "Engine No. 9" as a reference to one of their demos, but the deal fell through. “Six months later they signed to Maverick Records, releasing ‘Adrenaline’ in 1995, and the rest is history,” Conner concluded. “Seemingly overnight the album took off, the band blew up, and every metal fan across the globe was wearing a Deftones T-shirt. I sure felt silly.”

“I learned two valuable lessons from that whole experience. Firstly, you can’t look at a band’s name in a vacuum,” he added. “The band’s music MAKES the name! Secondly, it is important not to fall victim to myopia. Not all things that seem important in our often-insulated music industry world matter to the fans out in the real world.”