Unpredictability and mystique are two things rock music is severely missing nowadays, but the Deftones have consistently provided that for years to their die hard fanbase. Originating from the early nu-metal scene and considered as one of the pioneering bands of the genre, the Chino Moreno led band from California is a case of a band expanding their style to keep things interesting and spectacular. The band's ninth studio album "Ohms", which comes after four and a half years, is another testament to the band's longevity and experimental nature. Helmed by returning producer Terry Date, who helped bring life to classic Deftones releases like "White Pony" and "Around The Fur" in addition to the unreleased tracks from "Eros", it's safe to say that fans of the long running band have a lot to expect as usual. It's been highly publicized at this point that guitarist Stephen Carpenter and the rest of the band are split on their last album, "Gore", which presented a much lighter tone than previous offerings and is definitely not one of their strongest albums. The rest of the band felt "Gore" was solid, but Carpenter felt like an afterthought and has openly stated that he is not a big fan of the album. With the material on "Ohms", the band has solved that problem by letting Carpenter become more involved in the writing, in turn making the recording sessions feel more like a group effort where everyone is passionate about the final result. Proving that is this statement from Chino Moreno in an interview with Consequence Of Sound before the announcement of the album: "I think our main goal was to make sure that everybody in the band was involved to an extent. I think our best records are when we're firing on all pistons, each one of us individually and collectively". So, after well over four years of not being treated to new Deftones music, and hearing that everyone in the band had a piece of the action this time around, how do they sound in 2020? Does "Ohms" live up to the hype and anticipation that has been built up for several years? Let's dive into lucky album number nine from the highly revered band and examine it in full.
The final track on the album ended up being the first released single from the album, that being the titular track "Ohms". An interesting choice for a leadoff single as usually closing tracks aren't the perfect measurement of the final album, but in this case there is a lot to sink into. Looking at the title track, there are many characteristics involved that make this the perfect definition of a Deftones song. Chino's vocal delivery is great as usual and the statements about the band being more focused come to light as you listen. One interesting fact about the album is that Stephen Carpenter used a 9-string guitar for the recording of the album, but he's not necessarily chugging the low C string like a djent/progressive metalcore band. In fact, "Ohms" doesn't utilize much from the lower strings at all, and that's an interesting direction as far as this song is concerned. The album begins, however, with second single "Genesis", which starts out slowly until it unleashes in a bombastic way. This track will easily please fans who love early Deftones and want to hear a fresh take on an old sound. The drumming from Abe Cunningham is strong, Chino is unleashed with his performance, and overall I see this track becoming a fan favorite in the years that come. Directly after the excellent "Genesis" are the songs "Ceremony" and "Urantia", which are faithful follow up tracks. "Ceremony" has more of the edge out of these two tracks, as it sort of feels like what would happen if Terry Date remixed a song from "Gore" or "Diamond Eyes", and the results are beyond excellent. It's yet another song with the signature Deftones sound, and it will please you every chance it gets. "Urantia" does have a vocal melody that doesn't mesh perfectly with everything that's going on, but the riffage from Carpenter really saves this song from being something underwhelming. In the end, the song works.
"Error" is easily one of my standout moments on the entire album. It's when you get to this track on the album that you really see that all five of the members of Deftones are having fun with this material and their focus becomes crystal clear. It's much more of a nu-metal leaning track, especially in the verses, which signifies that the band hasn't completely lost touch of their roots, but it's such a good song and features a great usage of melody and instrumentation. "The Spell Of Mathematics" follows that with some of the same magic. The melody-driven sections are stellar, especially the amazing extended outro, and the moments where Stephen's nine-string riffing comes in during the chorus are blissful at best. This will definitely be a hidden gem on the album for sure. "Pompeji" is more solemn and restrained, and has some solid musicianship, but the usage of religious imagery in the lyrics doesn't really connect with me as much. It's my least favorite song on the album, although I can say at its simplest that the song has a ton of salvageable ideas that are actually well conceived, such as its outro and lead in to the next track, "The Link Is Dead". This track really shows Moreno going full madman on vocals and you really feel the anger in the words he's shouting, and it blends so well with the heavy instrumentation. It's reminiscent of the self-titled album in a way, and it's sure to draw in longtime fans. "Radiant City" comes next, and this may be my favorite song on the entire album. The chorus melody is the defining factor of that claim, as it's utterly fantastic and meshes so well with Cunningham's drumwork, and the key changes give this song a unique feeling even compared to the rest of this album. At first, I wasn't sure what to expect, but I've been coming back to "Radiant City" a lot since my initial listen, and it's excellent. It's songs like this that prove that Deftones are fantastic at what they do and this may become one of my favorite songs from the band in the future.
After that, we get "Headless", which shares so many qualities of the other songs on this album. Chino's excellent delivery, the intimidating verses, the melodic bridge. It's an excellent song, although it's not one of my highlight tracks on the album. All of this leads back to the final track, "Ohms", which as stated before is an excellent and unique closer and ends the album on an optimistic footing. If there is one minor complaint I have about the album, it's that I wish that Carpenter would have utilized more of the dynamic range that a 9-string guitar offers. And by that I mean that there were more riffs that utilized the lowest string. But, the fact that's he is just as involved as everyone else as opposed to the previous album makes up for that one flaw in droves. "Ohms" really is the band at their most focused in years. Although this album isn't perfect by any means, Deftones have hit it out of the park like they do every time they release new music. Albums like this are the reason why Deftones is one of the best bands in mainstream rock, as they continue to prove their ability to make each album slightly different than the last and make it work. Overall, "Ohms" is a return to the aggressive and heavy sound present in Deftones' early material, with the band sounding as good and consistent as ever. It's a complete listening experience from beginning to end, and that should be enough to prove that this album is definitely worth checking out. If you're a longtime fan or you're brand new to this Sacramento-based band, "Ohms" will be worth your time whether you only like a couple tracks or the album as a whole.
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