If you’re new to this site then you may not know the obsession for Deftones and all things Chino Moreno that goes on here at B.G.M. I personally have been a die-hard fan since Around the Fur dropped in 1997. I first saw them live in 1998 and have seen them 15 times live in total. I used to wait feverishly when new albums would get announced and when they would drop they wouldn’t leave my rotation for months if ever.
That is until recently when 2012’s Koi No Yokan dropped. I was initially so thrilled for a new album and excited to see what Sergio Vega would do bass wise on his second album with the Deftones because he killed it on his debut with the band on Diamond Eyes. However, something very unexpected and weird happened, the low end disappeared from the mix and the band lost that ‘snap’ they had to their rhythm. It really threw me off and it took me so long to figure out why I wasn’t in love with Koi No Yokan like I was with the previous albums. It was missing that Deftones warm low-end groove. At the time I just chalked it up to a miss by the band after 6 nearly perfect albums.
So when the band announced 2016’s Gore I was more worried than excited and when the band dropped the lead single “Prayers/Triangles” what I worried about came true. That low, snappy, warm, groove was still missing from the mix. The entire album just sounded so hollow, which broke my heart. The thing that sucks so bad too is the songs on both Koi No Yokan and Gore are actually really cool songs ideas they just sound like shit from the mix/master that was done to them.
Rant/Tangent/Conspiracy Theory Warning: I have several theories as to why these albums don’t sound as good and come across as sub-par: Guitarist, Stephen Carpenter being apathetic to the songs on these albums and not contributing to the writing process as much (I have since discovered he is the one that really adds that aggressive snap to the songs, he is the x-factor) the band changing their processors/effects gear on Koi No Yokan, the fact Sergio plays bass with a pick and generally isn’t crazy tuned down, then on Gore Sergio used a Fender Bass VI on a good amount of the songs which is basically a baritone guitar, the fact that Steph keeps getting lower and lower as his strings multiply (he’s now on 9 string guitars) and I think that puts a strain on where the bass can EQ into the mix and then long-time collaborator/producer Terry Date not being on board for the past four albums. So yea you can tell I’ve obsessed over this and I think a combination of all of these things or some of these things added to the hollow feeling of both Koi No Yokan and Gore. – Rant/Tangent/Conspiracy Theory Over
However, on Ohms Deftones are back!!
(5 Points Album Reviews, despite the long as fuck intro above again… is going to serve as a quick and easy-to-read format for me to review albums I’m interested in. Hopefully, I’ll chill on the intro next time so you the reader can get right to the point.)
1. Low-End Warmth
That snappy, groovy, mid, low, warmth is back. You can hear it and feel it. It legit makes me want to cry. To me, this signals the return of Deftones. It is everything to their magic and it makes the songs on Ohms have some weight and movement to them. This shit just drives from start to finish!
2. Stephen Carpenter Engages
For the previous two albums, Steph wasn’t really interested or super involved in the writing process and I think it caused major problems. I think the band knew this especially Chino who made a concentrated effort to travel to Steph to jam with him and really push to get his writing and creating song ideas going again.
3. Terry Date Returns
Now don’t get me wrong here Saturday Night Wrist (produced by Bob Ezrin and Shaun Lopez) and Diamond Eyes (produced by Nick Raskulinecz) are both really great sounding albums that retain that Deftones warmth, but there is just something special about having the 6th member of Deftones back. Date is an all-time producer and has the discography to back it up. So many classic and amazing sounding records. So glad he’s back!
4. Snaps?!
I just read in an interview featuring drummer, Abe Cunningham that Zach Hill (former Team Sleep drummer, founding member of Death Grips and Hella, and fucking insane drummer extraordinaire) provides the finger snaps on track five “The Spell of Mathematics”. Like what in the actual fuck?! You have one of the greatest and most original off-beat drummers of all time on Ohms and you bring him into the studio to 4/4 finger snaps?! Okay cool… I guess. So random.
5. Ambience
Frank Delgado’s keyboard and soundscape work on Ohms is next level. I have recently been obsessed with the soundtrack for the crazy horror movie Mandy. The entire soundtrack on that movie just has this really amazing kind of late 70s – 80s Dario Argento ominous and threatening keyboard vibe to it (R.I.P. Jóhann Jóhannsson, fuckin legend!). Well, Frank really taps into a similar vibe on the entire album. From the opening synth on “Genesis” to the middle of the album where some truly beautiful and terrifying highlights happen on “Pompeji”, “The Link Is Dead”, and “Radiant City”. Such a cool dreadful element added to songs that are already crushing. *Chef’s Kiss
In closing, I can’t tell you how insanely happy it makes me to have the Deftones warmth back. It is my musical security blanket and it is the one element from any band that can make me all kind of emotional. I legit get teary-eyed when listening to Deftones from time to time. They are my favorite band and despite a few missteps recently they are proving to stand the test of time. Ohms is a fucking great album and it is everything I could hope for from a new Deftones album and I look forward to truly absorbing these songs for decades to come.
Also, R.I.P. Chi Cheng FOREVER!!