Deftones guitarist Stephen Carpenter gave fans an intimate look into his world during a newly released rig rundown with Premier Guitar, filmed on August 30, 2025, in Milwaukee, WI. The deep-dive video showcases Carpenter's ever-evolving arsenal of guitars and gear, but it also revealed something much more personal: the influential musician's ongoing health challenges and how they've shaped his contributions to Deftones' latest album, private music.
When asked what he's been listening to lately, Carpenter immediately name-checked British alt-metal breakouts Sleep Token and genre-bending artist Bilmuri. The guitarist gushed about the latter's 2024 album American Motor Sports: "I love Bilmuri. Bilmuri is amazing.
"All bangers, as stated. I'ma tell ya, the latest record, I never turned it off for maybe two or three months. I've been going through some health struggles over the past couple years — basically I'm type 2 diabetic, that's what I'm dealing with — and you know, I'm 55, I'm getting old right?
"So there was a time when that record came out and I listened to it so much, that the songs were just so, so catchy. Like, I'd wake up in the middle of the night and go use the bathroom or whatever, but I couldn't get to sleep because the song would keep going.
"I'd have to put something on that made me hear something else in my head. I stopped listening to it for awhile, because it was too much. But now I can listen to it without it disrupting my sleep."
Carpenter went on to speak candidly about how undiagnosed type 2 diabetes had been silently deteriorating his health for years. That reality bled into his role on private music, forcing vocalist/guitarist Chino Moreno to take on a bigger share of guitar duties.
"On this record, Chino really came and showed up with the riffs. There's a lot of riffs on this record that are ones that he came up with. Good on him, man. I'm stoked and proud, and he inspires me right now. Because, again, like I said, I've been going through these health things now, for the last couple years.
"I've been diabetic, probably longer than I knew, and deteriorating because of it. And it was only this year that I finally accepted it and have engaged in actively handling it, because otherwise I'm going to die from it. I don't want to die from it."
Carpenter described himself as being grateful that he was still physically able to contribute when recording time came, even if his parts often came together in the moment of tracking: "Like the song, 'I think about you every day,' right? I didn't even play one thing on that song, literally, until it was time for me to record.
"I literally wrote — and I say wrote — I recorded my part, literally, in the moment of recording that song. Effects, everything. It all happened when it was time. Otherwise I didn't have anything."
Carpenter also addressed the broader challenges of living with diabetes, speaking not only for himself but for others who may be struggling: "I got compassion for every person out there that is experiencing this kind of stuff, and I will speak for those people. Our food supply is toxic.
"I mean, we are all just sugar-poisoned. And if you're a person of color, you're at an elevated risk for diabetes. But every one of us is getting affected by the substance in just different ways. Whatever your DNA is, your problems are still sourced to the same problems as mine. It's just this is what's got me.
Last year was when I hit the bottom — or the bottom as I wanted to hit it. And so I've been getting my medical help, and seeking information, just dealing… just being accountable for my own personal situation. Otherwise, I've just been like everyone else out there, ignoring it, acting like it's nothing, self-medicating and failing."
