When Peter Steele Started A Fight with Deftones Singer Chino Moreno

Silvio Tanaka from Sao Paulo, Brazil, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
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It was a brutally hot autumn in 1996 when Type O Negative singer Peter Steele went up to Deftones singer Chino Moreno and punched him.

“Change (In the House of Pods)” is a Deftones related podcast that explores the history of the Deftones through interviews involving fans, artists, or people in the music industry. In one of the podcast’s episodes, featuring former Maverick Records radio promotions guy Darren Eggleston, Eggleston talks about the infamous brawl between Steele and the Deftones singer.

As Eggleston shares in his conversation with the “Change (In the House of Pods)”:

“Deftones were second to last and Type O Negative was headlining […] There were a slew of bands, and the common denominator was: it’s 115 [degrees] […] and everybody’s fucked up. I mean everybody’s hammered. So it’s zombie-land by the time Deftones hit the stage […] It’s a war of attrition.”

Fans started to not feel super great from the combination of partying and heat, so after a few songs, the Deftones singer invited fans up to the stage. Eggleston continues, “Thousands of kids poured up the aisle, and they’re working their way to the stage. And then they started climbing on the stage, and one of the curtains, somebody lit it on fire. It was a riot.”

Later after these events, the Deftones singer bumps into Peter Steele. Eggleston then concludes the story with the following:

“[Deftones] were staying in a hotel with all the other bands […] Type O Negative never went on […] They were pissed. The big fucking frontman punched Chino in the bar, and it was a big melee.”

That is some wild shit huh? Who do you think ultimately won that brawl? You can listen to the episode with Eggleston talking about the fight between Moreno and Steele below:

The Deftones are currently on tour with Gojira. You can find the remaining tour dates and locations for the tour below.

4/28 – Albuquerque, NM – Isleta Amphitheatre
4/30 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall
5/2 – Irving, TX – The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
5/3 – San Antonio, TX – AT&T Center
5/6 – Atlanta, GA – Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park
5/7 – Nashville, TN – Municipal Auditorium
5/8 – Cincinnati, OH – ICON Music Center
5/10 – Indianapolis, IN – TCU Amphitheater at White River State Park
5/11 – Pittsburgh, PA – Petersen Events Center
5/13 – Boston, MA – Agganis Arena
5/14 – Asbury Park, NJ – Stone Pony Summer Stage
5/15 – New York City, NY – Pier 17
5/17 – Washington DC – The Anthem
5/18 – Philadelphia, PA – The Met
5/19 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
5/21 – Laval, QC – Place Bell
5/22 – Toronto, ON – Echo Beach
5/24 – Detroit, MI – Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill
5/26 – Milwaukee, WI – Eagles Ballroom
5/27 – Chicago, IL – Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
5/28 – Minneapolis, MN – The Armory

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Words by: Michael Pementel