By: James Rivers<\/p>\n
Album Name: Ohms<\/span><\/p>\n By: Deftones<\/span><\/p>\n Release Date: September 25, 2020<\/span><\/p>\n Genre: Alternative Metal\/Dream Pop<\/span><\/p>\n Related Artists: Loathe, Faith No More, Hum, Cocteau Twins, Helmet, The Cars, The Dillinger Escape Plan<\/span><\/p>\n Rating: 8\/10<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Deftones established a name for themselves in the late 90s and early 2000s.\u00a0 Since then, the legendary alt-metallers have maintained a surprisingly high level of quality for a band 30 years into their career.\u00a0 The newest release, Ohms, sees the band continuing to deliver what fans would expect from a Deftones album, while managing to stay interesting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The album opens up with the song, \u201cGenesis.\u201d \u00a0 This song really encompasses a lot of the elements that appear on the album.\u00a0 It chugs along with a heavy verse riff before flipping to a soulful chorus that is distinctly Chino.\u00a0 The track also features really beautiful, dreamy synths that really build the atmosphere and fill in the blanks.\u00a0 The song kicks off the album with a punch and is a solid opener.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n What follows is the song, \u201cCeremony.\u201d\u00a0 This one begins with a muted picking riff that kind of sounds like something from The Cars.\u00a0 On this track, the band maintains a really headbangable groove that dramatically crawls across the track.\u00a0 This song also features the first appearance on the album of the \u201cOm\u201d vocals.\u00a0 On this album, the backing vocals feature a lot of really cool \u201coohs,\u201d \u201cohs, and \u201cohms.\u201d\u00a0 This particular track features some really pretty \u201coohs\u201d before diving back into the band\u2019s signature heavy groove.\u00a0 This song is a really fun one and for the most part, is one of the lighter tracks on the album.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n While Ceremony is a great track, it is succeeded by three back-to-back album highlights.\u00a0 The first of these is \u201cUrantia.\u201d\u00a0 This track opens with a really cool heavy riff and drum fill before sliding into an extremely beautiful synth led groove.\u00a0 The verse quickly becomes even more impressive when the distorted guitars come in with a heavy, chuggy, and chunky riff.\u00a0 It\u2019s downright filthy and is quickly offset by a captivating chorus.\u00a0 The chorus here features Chino Moreno doing some of his signature wail vocals with some gorgeous harmonies and backing vocals.\u00a0 Another really cool part of this song is when there\u2019s a brief, almost trip hop transition from the chorus into the second verse.\u00a0 This song has everything that fans of newer Deftones releases love.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n A personal favorite of mine is the song, \u201cError.\u201d\u00a0 This song starts with some piercing guitar noise\/feedback before Chino leads the song into a delicate drum groove.\u00a0 That all changes up when the guitars come in.\u00a0 Holy fuck.\u00a0 The guitars come in full force with a chunky 9 string guitar riff.\u00a0 It almost has an \u201cImmigrant Song\u201d feel to it.\u00a0 These disgustingly heavy riffs are juxtaposed with some of Chino\u2019s most delicate singing.\u00a0 He harmonizes exceptionally well here and really illustrates what the band does so well.\u00a0 They meld the beautiful and the heavy together almost effortlessly.\u00a0 The synths really stand out on this track\u2019s soaring chorus.\u00a0 The song ends with these dramatic cymbal hits that give a very cinematic ending.\u00a0 This song is as heavy as it is pretty.\u00a0 And it\u2019s damn heavy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The transition into the song \u201cThe Spell of Mathematics\u201d is absolutely flawless.\u00a0 The song opens with a really distorted and heavy verse riff.\u00a0 It seems like it\u2019s going to be just a heavy song but then, the pre-chorus comes in.\u00a0 Here is where it becomes clear that Sextones are back and they mean business.\u00a0 This section is really beautiful, and it transitions seamlessly into an absolutely beautiful chorus.\u00a0 This chorus sees Chino going back and forth between gorgeous, harmonized vocals and impassioned wails.\u00a0 The guitars also give this chorus a sort of fuzzy warmth from their crazy distortion.\u00a0 The song dramatically moves into this truly ethereal part with luscious synths supported by a great ghost note beat on the drums.\u00a0 This is all complimented by some well-chosen cleans almost sounding like something from one of The Dillinger Escape Plan\u2019s jazzy sections.\u00a0 This section is absolutely hypnotizing and quite frankly, could go on even longer.\u00a0 This song is definitely one of the best on the album.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n One of the most unique tracks on the album is the aggressive, \u201cThis Link Is Dead.\u201d\u00a0 This one opens with some dramatic synths led in from the previous track.\u00a0 This sets an eerie atmosphere before some guitar feedback leads into a particularly mean verse.\u00a0 It has a really groovy feel to it and is chock full of attitude.\u00a0 It gives off something of a nu metal vibe, without being a nu metal song.\u00a0 The track has some definite influence from their earlier material such as Around the Fur and White Pony.\u00a0 The guitars on the verse have a spider-like quality and feel unsettling.\u00a0 The chorus is somewhat beautiful, but it is still more heavy than usual for this album.\u00a0 One thing\u2019s for sure, Chino is pissed off on this song and it makes for a memorable track.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Another great song from the album is \u201cRadiant City.\u201d\u00a0 This one kicks off with some heavy and chunky bass playing, which does an effective job of leading into the song.\u00a0 The verse here really chugs along and is contrasted well by soft, crooning vocals.\u00a0 The synths steal the show when the verse moves into the pre-chorus.\u00a0 Here, the synths feel creepy and dramatic while Chino does some of his signature screams.\u00a0 One of the strongest parts of this song is the chorus.\u00a0 It has a really cool breakdown feel to it and feels very anthemic.\u00a0 This is definitely the kind of chorus that would get a lot of people singing along live.\u00a0 Each part of this song really feels well-crafted and there isn\u2019t a single weak moment here.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n While this album features a lot of great new Deftones songs, the songs \u201cPompeji\u201d and \u201cHeadless\u201d feel just there.\u00a0 They\u2019re not bad songs per se, but they feel a bit lacking or treading water.\u00a0 My main issue with Pompeji is that the chorus feels a bit underwhelming compared to the rest of the song.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t feel like a satisfactory climax to the build up from the verses.\u00a0 The song, Headless, does have some cool moments and melodies.\u00a0 But it doesn\u2019t have anything that truly sticks with you.\u00a0 It\u2019s not quite as memorable as other tracks on the album.\u00a0 This track in particular feels like the band is getting too comfortable with their sound.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The final track on the album is the title track, \u201cOhms.\u201d\u00a0 This song starts out with a really cool riff in the major key.\u00a0 This stands out because a lot of metal riffs tend to be in the minor key.\u00a0 Therefore, the song opens with a sort of optimistic feeling.\u00a0 The verses here are very dramatic and groovy and feel like a fitting book end to the elements of this album.\u00a0 The somber pre-chorus juxtaposed with the melodic chorus does an effective job of emphasizing the hopefulness of the song in the face of adversity.\u00a0 The song ends with a derivative melody from the chorus that flawlessly transitions back into the opening riff.\u00a0 This track seems to be fitting for the times.\u00a0 It looks like the band is ending the album on a positive note to remind people of the potential for a brighter future after this crazy year.\u00a0 This is a great album ending that leaves listeners feeling happy and satisfied.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Overall, this is a solid Deftones release.\u00a0 The band does what they do best here and succeed in many areas.\u00a0 However, there does seem to be a sense familiarity here that doesn\u2019t bode well for future releases.\u00a0 Perhaps the band needs to reinvent and reinvigorate their sound like they did at the start of the decade.\u00a0 But then again, it is hard to continue to put out consistently good albums when you have classics in your discography such as, White Pony and Diamond Eyes.\u00a0 Still, the band does show to be a much more formidable act than many of their contemporaries.\u00a0 Also, the quality of output has not decreased, even if it is at times shaky.\u00a0 Deftones does not disappoint on this album and Ohms is a worthy release to add to their catalogue.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By: James Rivers Album Name: Ohms By: Deftones Release Date: September 25, 2020 Genre: Alternative Metal\/Dream Pop Related Artists: Loathe, Faith No More, Hum, Cocteau Twins, Helmet, The Cars, The Dillinger Escape Plan Rating: 8\/10 Deftones established a name for themselves in the late 90s and early 2000s.\u00a0 Since then, the legendary alt-metallers have 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