Minerva is one of Deftones' most memorable tracks, partly because of Stephen Carpenter's stellar seven-string guitar work and also the fact its accompanying music video was shot in an actual sandstorm.
Despite the killer visual results, late bassist Chi Cheng said in a 2005 interview with Blabbermouth that the shoot lasted “almost 24 hours”, and resulted in sand being blown into “just about every orifice you can imagine”. Drummer Abe Cunningham added that “it sucked”.
Yet 18 years on from the shoot, you'd think Carpenter still had some leftover sand in his eye, given the surprise patch and bandana face paint he dons for a new playthrough of the classic track, posted to Deftones' YouTube channel.
Naturally though, performing in the middle of a sandstorm tends to be a one-time thing, so Stef opts to forgo the elements and play the track indoors. The setting is far from tranquil sonically, however, when he starts digging into its abundance of enormous shoegazey seven-string passages.
Perhaps even more impressive than his playing is his monstrous rig, which, fueled by his signature ESP STEF-B7 baritone guitar, includes a wall of Sound City SC412 and SC212 cabs, and a plethora of rack units, including a Fractal Axe-Fx II, Marshall JMP-1, Rocktron Intellifex Multi-FX, a tray of stompboxes – including a Strymon BigSky and Timeline – and two Fryette Two/Fifty/Two power amps.
This is the latest in a string of recent playthroughs by Carpenter showcasing Deftones' back catalog. So far this year, the guitarist has offered up new performances of Ceremony, Needles and Pins and Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away), among many others over at Deftones' YouTube channel.
“You wanted me to come on your track and do something in a Spanish style. I thought, ‘I have to show him how I do it on the whole guitar’”: Marcin shows an astounded Will Smith his virtuosic guitar technique
“I probably hauled in 20 guitars. I listened to the record top to bottom, turned to him and said, ‘It doesn’t need anything’”: Jeff “Skunk” Baxter on the one studio session where he lugged a ton of guitar gear – and didn't use any of it
