Bassist Chi Cheng remains in the hospital, only semi-conscious as Moreno reports, as he struggles to recover from a serious car accident. At the time of the accident in November of 2008, the band was in the process of recording the follow up to 2006's Saturday Night Wrist, entitled Eros, a record that was described as "dark and experimental."

Moreno explains that Eros will likely be released eventually, "when the time is right- hopefully when Chi is back on his feet." But in the meantime, he felt he'd be unable to tour behind a record "with all these memories of Chi attached to it."

The band has since hired former Quicksand bassist Sergio Vega. For the as-yet untitled forthcoming album, they started from scratch, writing from jams in a rehearsal room, a different approach from the one taken on the band's previous albums. Chino told Spin that he is singing less about himself than he has in the past, focusing more on "visual images and no story telling."

Moreno also confirmed the existence of a new side project with our buddy Shaun Lopez from Far, featuring guest vocals from Annie Hardy from Giant Drag. That project is entitled The Holy Ghost. While no further details were given in the interview, we'll have our ears to the ground, and our eyes on the band's MySpace  and Twitter.

UPDATE 2/19: The Deftones' official site has been updated with a few key details: The new album is entitled Diamond Eyes, and it will be released on May 18th. Rocket Skates hits radio Tuesday, February 23rd. -antiquiet.com