Deftones, Bad Brains Members Form New Supergroup

Deftones’ Chino Moreno has formed a new supergroup called Saudade with members of Bad Brains, Cro-Mags and more. The band released a single bundle via BitTorrent for their self-titled, instrumental debut track.

Chino Moreno of Deftones. Photo: Kevin Baldes/Flickr

Along with Moreno, Saudade includes Dr. Know (Bad Brains), John Medeski (Medeski, Martin & Wood), Chuck Doom (Crosses) and Mackie Jayson (Cro-Mags, Bad Brains). In Portuguese, the band’s name means “a feeling of longing, melancholy or nostalgia,” a fitting description of their cinematic but somber debut song, which also comes with a video in the BitTorrent bundle.

No further information has been released by the band about the project’s future.

Moreno is no stranger to side projects: the singer has fronted bands Team Sleep and Crosses over the years as well as appearing as a guest artist on several songs. In 2013, he fronted the band Palms with former members of the metal group Isis which had disbanded soon before Palms was launched.

Deftones released their eighth studio album, Gore, earlier this month. In early May, the band will resume their tour dates in support of the LP, playing shows across North America through the end of August.

Earlier this year, members of Bad Brains launched a campaign to raise $100,000 to help Dr. Know, who had been hospitalized in late 2015 after suffering cardiac arrest. He was put on life support for two weeks and was initially told that he had a 5 percent chance of recovery. His bandmate H.R. also launched a campaign to raise money for his medical bills as well after suffering from a rare headache disorder. Members of Bad Brains will play as part of a superjam at this year’s AfroPunk NYC Festival with members of Fishbone and Living Colour.