New Spoken Word Album From Late Deftones Bassist Chi Cheng Arrives in 2021

A new spoken word album from Chi Cheng, the Deftones bassist who died in 2013 after five years in a semi-comatose state following a 2008 car accident, arrives in early 2021.

Titled The Head Up Project, it's being released in conjunction with Buckle Up for Chi, an organization founded to honor the musician's memory and promote vehicle safety.

The posthumous disc is Cheng's second spoken word album. His first, the self-released The Bamboo Parachute, was issued in 2000. It was sold at select Deftones' concerts that year, around the same time that the Chino Moreno-fronted act was touring in promotion of White Pony.

See The Head Up Project's cover art and tracklisting down toward the bottom of this post.

According to Buckle Up for Chi, the new album was recorded in January 2001 during a performance in Sacramento, Calif. Its 24 tracks were remastered by Qumran Records, a partner on the project. The Head Up Project is also part of a broader effort of the same name by the memorial organization.

"Buckle Up For Chi has always been blessed to keep Chi's legacy alive and we strive to continue to do so with the launch of the Head Up Project," the organization says in a statement. "Through this initiative and our loyal community, we will continue to support each other, spread peace, music, love, and as always: fly high. We hold close and keep to the tenets that Chi stood for: caring, kindness and empathy. We continue to honor those ideas, Chi's legacy, and thank you all for being apart of the Buckle Up for Chi community."

When Cheng was involved in the 2008 car accident, Deftones were in the middle of working on what was planned to be their sixth studio album, Eros. Following the vehicle collision and Cheng's subsequent coma, however, the band shelved the sessions. They eventually returned in 2010 with Diamond Eyes, featuring Cheng's replacement, Quicksand bassist Sergio Vega.

The Head Up Project comes out in January 2021. Get more info here.

Chi Cheng, The Head Up Project Tracklist

1. "Introduction"
2. "Rope Burns, Love Poems and other Forms of Chafe"
3. "Songs of Dissent"
4. "Buddhism Poetry"
5. "Angels, Freaks and Winners"
6. "Dirty Poems on Parole"
7. "The Floating Women"
8. "Finger"
9. "You Were Here"
10. "Boats"
11. "The Myth of Importance"
12. "The Myth of Individual"
13. "Canker"
14. "The Reptile Stage Set"
15. "The Paper Kiln"
16. "Two Falls and a Good Exit"
17. "The Protein of an Ant Colony"
18. "Why Do You?"
19. "Lemon"
20. "What to Do If You're Caught On"
21. "Fire"
22. "Lady Dramamine"
23. "My Favorite Patient"
24. "All That for This: Christianity, Happiness and Other Long Shots"