Deftones Play “Melanie” For The First Time In 18 Years At Dia De Los Deftones

Deftones threw their annual San Diego stadium festival Día De Los Deftones on Saturday at Petco Park. In addition to the headliner/curators, the fest had its usual eclectic mix of acts including Converge, Lip Critic, the Neighbourhood, AFI, Bktherula, Jehnny Beth, Ladrones, and LustSickPuppy. Deftones' own set was properly stacked with hits, and they made time for one tune that hadn't surfaced for 18 years.The unreleased song "Melanie" is part of Eros, the uncompleted Deftones album that was shelved after a car crash put bassist Chi Cheng in a coma in 2008. Eros, long a Deftones fan holy grail, leaked this summer, a year after frontman Chino Moreno wrote in a fan Q&A that the album would never come out because it would involve "going back to that period and resurrecting unfinished things, and somehow bringing them to completion," when the band would rather focus on new ideas.However, Deftones are at least willing to nod toward the fan interest in Eros. Deep into their Día De Los Deftones set, they broke out "Melanie" for the first time since 2008. After performing it, Moreno said, "This song doesn't exist." So I guess hearing it is like seeing a ghost? That feels appropriate fo...