BREAKING: Deftones Bassist Chi Cheng Dead At 42

Sad news coming in over night. Chi Cheng, bassist for Deftones who was in a semi-conscious state since a car accident back in November 2008, died on his way to the emergency room last night, he was 42. Chi was bassist for Deftones since its inception in 1988 along with Chino Moreno, Stephen Carpenter, and Abe Cunningham. The band achieved initial success with their debut album Adrenaline, which came out in 1994 and ended up achieving platinum status without the aid of any radio airplay of the album's tracks. Their follow up release Around The Fur came out in 1997, and was an immediate success on the strength of such fine tracks like "My Own Summer (Shove It)" and "Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away)". The album eventually reached platinum status much like its predecessor did. It wasn't until their follow up White Pony which came out in 2000 where the band really reached big time. The album debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200 on its release, selling 178,000 copies in its first week out and had a monster hit that summer with "Change (In The House Of Flies)" and "Back To School (Mini-Maggit)". The album has sold 1.3 million copies to date and remains the band's best album to date.

Their self-titled follow up came in 2003, debuting at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart, their highest position to date on that chart, selling 167,000 copies in its first week and contained the haunting single "Minerva". Another follow up effort Saturday Night Wrist came out in 2006, selling 76,000 copies in its first week and wasn't as successful commercially as their prior ones were, containing the prominent track, "Hole in the Earth". The band was working on their new album Eros prior to November 5, 2008, when Chi was involved in a car accident which resulted in him being ejected from the vehicle and sustained massive head injuries as a result. He wasn't wearing his seatbelt at the time, and immediately began receiving treatment at an outpatient facility that specialized in traumatic brain injuries. Sergio Vega of Quicksand immediately began filling in his absence, and contributed to the band's Diamond Eyes album in 2010, which hearkened back to the band's late 90's heyday, and the album's title track became a massive hit at alternative radio. The band released their most recent album Koi No Yokan just last year, and was an immediate critical success for the band and among the best reviewed albums of the year.

It remains to be seen what the future of the band holds without Chi, as it's left a gaping hole in the band which can't possibly be filled at this time.