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Deftones
Biography
Along with Limp Bizkit, the Deftones are often considered to be disciples of Korn, but in fact, they've been around for just as long (if not longer). They were also one of the first groups to alternate heavy riffs and screamed vocals with more ethereal music and hushed singing -- spawning a fair amount of imitators in their wake. The group first formed in Sacramento, CA, during 1988, when then high-school students Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Abe Cunningham (drums), and Chino Moreno (vocals) first began to jam together. The young band was able to invest some heavy cash into their equipment setup early on, when Carpenter collected a substantial cash settlement after being hit by a drunk driver. The Deftones began playing out locally shortly thereafter, and went through several different bass players before finding a permanent bassist in the form of Chi Cheng.

Although the group was more heavy metal-based early on, the early '90s saw the Deftones expand their sound even further, obviously inspired by such groundbreakers as Tool, Rage Against the Machine, and Faith No More. A strong four-song demo was completed soon after, and it landed the group a recording contract with Madonna's label, Maverick.