Ohms

by 
AlbumSep 25 / 202010 songs, 46m 21s
Alternative Metal
Popular Highly Rated

*“It’s beauty meets aggression.” Read an interview with Abe Cunningham about Deftones’ massive ninth album.* “My bags are still packed,” Deftones drummer Abe Cunningham tells Apple Music. The California band was set to embark on a two-year touring cycle when the pandemic hit. “We were eight hours away from flying to New Zealand and Australia,” he says, when they received the news that the festival that was to signal the start of their tour had been canceled. The band had spent nearly two years before that chipping away at their ninth album, *Ohms*, while also planning to celebrate the 20th anniversary of 2000’s *White Pony* with a remix album, *Black Stallion*—which is to say, they had more than a few reasons to take their show on the road. “There was talk of delaying the album,” he says, “but we were like, ‘Shit, if we can help somebody out, if we can get somebody through their doldrums and their day-to-day shit, let’s stick to the plan.” *Ohms* is a triumph that serves the stuck-at-home headphone listener every bit as much as it would, and eventually will, the festival-going headbanger. It reaches into every corner of Deftones’ influential sonic repertoire: chugging grooves, filthy rhythms, extreme vocals, soaring emotions, experimental soundscapes, and intentionally cryptic lyrics, open for each individual listener’s interpretation. “We try to make albums,” Cunningham says. “Sequencing is definitely something that we put a lot of thought and energy into.” Opening track “Genesis” begins with an eerie synth, a slow, wavering riff. And then, with a hint of reverb and Cunningham’s sticks counting it in, there’s an explosion. Guitars and bass pound out an enormous, droning chord as Chino Moreno screeches: “I reject both sides of what I’m being told/I’ve seen right through, now I watch how wild it gets/I finally achieve balance/Approaching a delayed rebirth.” “Ceremony” opens with staccatoed guitar and muffled vocals, followed by a feverish riff. “The Spell of Mathematics” is an epic album highlight that combines doomy basslines, breathy vocals, and screams, before a midsection breakdown of finger snaps that you can easily imagine resonating across a festival field or concert hall. “It’s one of those things that just happened out of nowhere,” Cunningham says. “Our buddy Zach Hill \[Death Grips, Hella, and more\] happened to be in LA when we were tracking everything, so we all walked up to meet him and had one beer, which led to three and four. He came back to the studio with us. The snaps are our little attempt at a barbershop quartet. It just worked out organically, and we have one of the baddest drummers ever just snapping.” The band took time off after touring their 2016 album, *Gore*, allowing them to take things slow. “In the past, it’s been, ‘All right, here’s your two months, you’re off tour, take a break. All right, you’ve got studio coming up, go, be productive!’ And we’re like, ‘Okay, but what if I don’t feel productive today?’ Tensions can come in. So we decided to take that year off.” Each band member lives in a different city, so they’d get together for a week or so once every month to jam and write songs, ultimately creating *Ohms*, in the order it was written. “Each time we would jam, we started making songs and we treated it as a set list,” Cunningham says. “We’d go home, stew on that for the month and see what we had, live with it, then come back and play those songs in order.” Summing up their approach, Cunningham says, “It’s beauty meets aggression. We’re trying to make a lovely mix of things that flow. I think we have more to offer than that, but it’s definitely one of our trademarks. I think our frustration is just trying to fit all these things that we love into one album.”

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7.6 / 10

Deftones’ ninth album reaches for a plane beyond loud and quiet, where the band is free to indulge its harshest and most gentle impulses at once. For the first time, they make it look easy.

3 / 10

The band's reunion with producer Terry Dart results in an album as thrilling – and as emotional – as they ever have been

8 / 10

As a career-defining decade ends, Sacramento's metal outsiders open a new one in clear-eyed fashion

8.0 / 10

4 / 5

Deftones return with Ohms, an album charged with peerless power and precision...

If any of Deftones’ previous records are guilty of lacking focus, ‘Ohms’ is certainly safe from future vitriol.

Idles compel you to pay attention on their vital third album, while Deftones are back to what they do best on ‘Ohms’

At the dawn of their fourth decade together as a band, alt-metal stalwarts Deftones crafted one of the best albums in their catalog, Ohms.

9 / 10

It's been four years since fans were left polarized by the softness of 2016's Gore, but now Deftones are showing their roots, with their nin...

Deftones are truly deserving of their legendary status.

8.0 / 10

The sauntering and sonically devastating rock that Deftones have worked decades to pioneer is the blueprint for many other acts looking to emulate that particular sound.

8 / 10

Now in their fourth decade of existence, and with 20 years distance from their commercial and critical peak 'White Pony', you’d forgive

10 / 10

Jessica Howkins reviews the brand new album from Deftones! Read her review of 'Ohms' here on Distorted Sound!

10 / 10

The experi-metal titans are back - pay attention to the details...

9 / 10

It's been over two decades since the Deftones broke free of their status as nu-metal/rap-rock avatars with the addition of experimental DJ/keyboardist...

The Sacramento band’s ninth album streamlines their experimentalism and adds a hit of 90s nu-metal

Album Reviews: Deftones - Ohms

82 %

5.0 / 5

Deftones - Ohms review: The best Deftones album yet

8 / 10