About this time, Deftones stopped touring and collaborating with bands like KoЯn. This was due in part to the fact that Deftones were often lumped into the then-emerging genre sometimes dubbed nu-metal. Like many bands so categorized, Deftones disagreed with the classification. Though Deftones were only tangentially associated with nu metal, they feared the increasingly negative use of the term and separated themselves from other such groups, both professionally and aesthetically. Their music would later evolve into a distinctive, often artsy take on heavy rock, and was often quite far removed from nu metal.
now STFU!