Deftones frontman Chino Moreno has opened up to Metal Hammer about his experiences with therapy, and encouraged others not to view the process as a sign of weakness or instability.
Moreno admits to feeling increasingly “isolated and lonely” following his family’s relocation from Los Angeles to the small city of Bend, Oregon seven years ago.
“It wasn’t like I was going through anything crazy,” he tells Metal Hammer’s Eleanor Goodman, “but I was trying to figure out, ‘Why am I sort of slightly depressed?’ I live in a beautiful place, I have a job, and a healthy family and whatever… why am I so agitated?’”
Having previously dismissed the idea, the singer finally took the decision to see a therapist, and credits the process for giving him a clearer vision of life.
“I didn’t want to do it for a ling time,” he admits. “I wanted to do it, but I was maybe afrad to do it. And then once I did it, it was just like, ‘Man, why didn’t I do this a long time ago? And then why is there a stigma attached to this, if there is one? Or, why did I think there was a stigma attached to it?’ Like, if you go to talk to somebody, that you’re mentally unstable. It’s like admitting that you have a problem. Honestly, I think it’s one of those things where you don’t even need to have a problem, but it’s just a healthy thing to do.”
“Now I feel like my vision is a lot clearer. It doesn’t mean that there’s still not trials and tribulations that most humans deal with on a day-to-day basis, but I feel like there is a lot more light in it. Even if it trudges through the darkness, it seems like it comes out in the light. It feels human to me.”
You can read the full interview with Moreno, plus exclusive stories on Corey Taylor, Black Sabbath, Svalbard, Power Trip and more, in the new issue of Metal Hammer, which is on sale now.
Deftones new album, Ohms, is out on September 25 via Warners. Two tracks from the album are already in circulation, the title track and Genesis. Metal Hammer has described the album as “continually glorious”.
