Gore

[77years]

Interesting that he picked up on "Gore" being almost "Eros" backwards

[Reichward]

soon

[2MoreHours]

2 gore hours

[snw9]

soon

I expect this figure to double or maybe triple once there is a leak or when the album is out.

[phil for real]

The PRP just put up a review of Gore.  About to read now.

[kleptoned]

The PRP just put up a review of Gore.  About to read now.

Here

[kleptoned]

The road to the release of Deftones' eighth full-length album "Gore" has been a rocky one as far as the press is concerned. There were missed release dates thanks to issues with mixing. Then the details for the album were leaked months in advance thanks to a journalist's screencap, forcing the band to readjust their rollout strategy. And of course, there was the elephant in the room: the negative comments guitarist Stephen Carpenter made about his initial lack of interest in taking part in the writing sessions.

A solid listen to "Gore" is all it takes to assure you that Carpenter did indeed show up on the effort. His crushing input populates a number of the included songs, and not just here and there. He may be somewhat underutilized to a small degree, but he certainly makes his presence felt. What stands out most about "Gore" though isn't his aggression or frontman Chino Moreno's melancholic shades of new wave and sparkling alt rock. No, it's the spacious room to breathe and fine attention paid to the smaller details in each song.

For "Gore" the band decided to write at their own pace, getting together numerous times over the period of a few months to put the effort together. You can tell there was no looming deadline or clock ticking on studio time. Sure they may have traded some parts back and forth via a Dropbox or the like, but refreshingly you can feel that these songs were worked on in a room together. It's this unencumbered style of songwriting and freedom to analyze and refine things over time that makes up the connective tissue of this release.

Because on "Gore" the Deftones feel more like an actual band than they have in years. A scrappier, almost happier version of themselves, flush with gnarled guitars, emotional outbursts and intricate details. No one element or idea pervades the album. It's a diverse collection of songs, that often at their core, sound like a mutated strain of 90's space rock that somehow got mixed up with chunky modern metal.

There's gnawing guitar parts, big looming riffs, a deeper oomph thanks to Sergio Vega's utilization of a Bass VI and some understated—yet no less crucial—work by drummer Abe Cunningham and sampler/programmer Frank Delgado. Indeed it's the little things that shine brightest this time out, be it the hushed drumming techniques Cunningham opens "Hearts/Wires" with, the guitar squeals that pop up in "Xenon" or Delgado's ever jittering ambiance regularly hovering just out of reach.

There's even times, such as on album highlight "Rubicon", where the band can feel like a busier, more embittered version of Failure. It's all Deftones to be sure, but more confident and substantial. Thanks to the wealth of organic interplay, it doesn't feel Frankensteined together like so many other albums these days.

So much of "Gore" has a nervous pulsing energy. Be it spacey and majestic or gleefully destructive, the band have delivered a scratchy guitar-filled opus that captures the better traits of their past few albums and adds a humbling amount of gravity and excitement. They're trying out new things and the results are interesting and heady. From obtuse ethereal riffs to Vega's drifting bass on "Phantom Bride" sounding like he took cliff notes from Glassjaw's "Coloring Book".

That track in particular also features a soaring guest appearance from Alice In Chains' Jerry Cantrell, who emerges mid-song, cutting through the ethereal haze with some tastefully soulful licks that could have sprung out of the fingers of Satriani or Vai. What's interesting in particular about his cameo isn't just the sense of levity and contrast it brings to the track. It's that it almost goes to war against Carpenter's sinister chug that comes like an approaching thunderstorm near the end.

As with any Deftones release, "Gore" isn't an album that you'll easily digest. It's something you'll likely be dissecting and finding new puzzle pieces for with each listen for weeks to come. A brave display of just how far this band have come since their nu metal days and definitive proof that the creative flame they share is still burning bright.

[kitesvera]

beat me to it

[Reichward]

"Gore" isn't an album that you'll easily digest. It's something you'll likely be dissecting and finding new puzzle pieces for with each listen for weeks to come.

Goog good. Because I've got a FUCKING APPETITE

[phil for real]

I need this album now!  Come on!

[77years]

Astounding review

I don't think I can take much more of this

[Jerry_Curls]

The PRP just put up a review of Gore.  About to read now.

Nice review. Well writen, concise, and no mention of Chi*. Makes me excited to listen to this album from beginning to end.


*it seems like every article has to mention his death. It was a breath of fresh air to read a review that talked about just the album.

[pinata89]

Hell yeah!  Failure getting a mention in that interview, I like!

If you guys haven't heard of Failure, you need to go check their shit out asap.  Best band you've never heard of.

[77years]

Hell yeah!  Failure getting a mention in that interview, I like!

If you guys haven't heard of Failure, you need to go check their shit out asap.  Best band you've never heard of.

I thought that was an on-point comparison. Always thought parts of S/T were Fantastic Planet on roids

[RavinVsFlud]

sound like a mutated strain of 90's space rock that somehow got mixed up with chunky modern metal

Sold. Gimme gimme gimme

[pinata89]

Hell yeah!  Failure getting a mention in that interview, I like!

If you guys haven't heard of Failure, you need to go check their shit out asap.  Best band you've never heard of.

I thought that was an on-point comparison. Always thought parts of S/T were Fantastic Planet on roids

You know, I can honestly see that too, now that you mention it.  Very stark parallel's, for sure.

[BlackDiamondSkye]

I'm so hyped after that review, they also scored it 4/5 Which is wicked.

I kind of don't want it to leak, but I have it Pre-ordered on iTunes anyways lol so I just want to hear the damn thing.

[N0S3BLEED976]

sorry that imposting this review again, but i spent the last 20 minutes trying to sort out anytranslation errors to make it more readable. there are some interesting new facts, however. There is much more screaming than on Koi No Yokan and the title track is supposed to be super heavy.

The law of averages

Microsoft operating systems and Deftones albums have one thing in common: Lovers and less beloved releases alternate in history from. Since their magnum opus "White pony" in 2000, the Californian metallers met, especially with the experimentally broad "Saturday night wrist" and the self-contained "Koi No Yokan", the largest reciprocated love. But that should not be forgotten that the valleys inbetween said comparison show significant height differences: "Deftones" and "Diamond Eyes" were anything but black sheep in their discography, but rather more conventional, song oriented albums, leaving less impression than before. If disasters such as Windows Millennium Edition or even Vista were music albums, would be the equivalent of probably something of this quality. An uneasy sign yet for "Gore", the now eighth Deftones album, but all those things are of course ignored for purpose of impartiality.

Chino Moreno shouts again significantly more than on the overall quite restrained predecessor and particularly the quartet at the beginning of the album accumulate the metallic colored sounds. The harbingers "Prayers / Triangles" and "Doomed user" let words like "solid" or "routine" come to mind. In particular the first mentioned song is a very strange choice as an opener and would have made a much better figure in the middle of the album. However, Deftones were never a band who reinvented themselves on every album. The sound was always perfected in detail, tectonic shifts instead of sound renovation was and still is the motto. But "Gore" makes it harder than any predecessor and constantly side-steps in terms of songwriting. Although the four opening songs are ultimately convincing: A catchy entry into the album is missing, offering neither an immediate sledgehammer like "Rocket Skates", nor a smooth chorus in the likes of "Tempest". Hits? None.

From "Hearts / Wires" the approach softens slightly, the band leaves more melodies to their ever-present, atmospheric side comes to the forefront, but without becoming tangible. Unusual, but very well done are the decent hard rock riffs in "Pittura infamante" - including "Uhh" - and "Ahh" -chants that are discreetly placed in the background. For even more exoticism, the guest appearance by Alice-in-Chains-mate Jerry Cantrell on the albums semifinal "phantom bride" proves that even a guitar solo can fit wonderfully into the Deftones sound. A soothing moment after the uncompromising, complex title track, that leaves you burning with Abe Cunningham's inventive drum beat and Moreno's earth-shattering roar.

It is easier with each listen to like their newest child, if you gradually unravel the tangled threads and find out that especially after the epic (L)MIRL, every following song is superb. The sound is proven, the songwriting top notch - and yet can not deny that the great enthusiasm this time fails. A damn good album it has become, only missing the last shot of genius, which accounts for their previous masterpieces. From the experiments - so it is rumored - to have taken place in the studio, few signs are prevalent on the final product. That "Gore" could be described as their weakest effort in the past 20 years only further proves their consistent high-quality output. "Gore" is therefore an update, which brings change in small ways and should completely satisfy their fanbase. It's like whining about first-world problems, though. Damn law of averages.
7/10

[phil for real]

I'm so hyped after that review, they also scored it 4/5 Which is wicked.

I kind of don't want it to leak, but I have it Pre-ordered on iTunes anyways lol so I just want to hear the damn thing.

Speak for yourself haha.  I need this now.  Obviously a lot of people are getting the album now.  Hope this means soon.

[snw9]

sorry that imposting this review again, but i spent the last 20 minutes trying to sort out anytranslation errors to make it more readable. there are some interesting new facts, however. There is much more screaming than on Koi No Yokan and the title track is supposed to be super heavy.

The law of averages

Microsoft operating systems and Deftones albums have one thing in common: Lovers and less beloved releases alternate in history from. Since their magnum opus "White pony" in 2000, the Californian metallers met, especially with the experimentally broad "Saturday night wrist" and the self-contained "Koi No Yokan", the largest reciprocated love. But that should not be forgotten that the valleys inbetween said comparison show significant height differences: "Deftones" and "Diamond Eyes" were anything but black sheep in their discography, but rather more conventional, song oriented albums, leaving less impression than before. If disasters such as Windows Millennium Edition or even Vista were music albums, would be the equivalent of probably something of this quality. An uneasy sign yet for "Gore", the now eighth Deftones album, but all those things are of course ignored for purpose of impartiality.

Chino Moreno shouts again significantly more than on the overall quite restrained predecessor and particularly the quartet at the beginning of the album accumulate the metallic colored sounds. The harbingers "Prayers / Triangles" and "Doomed user" let words like "solid" or "routine" come to mind. In particular the first mentioned song is a very strange choice as an opener and would have made a much better figure in the middle of the album. However, Deftones were never a band who reinvented themselves on every album. The sound was always perfected in detail, tectonic shifts instead of sound renovation was and still is the motto. But "Gore" makes it harder than any predecessor and constantly side-steps in terms of songwriting. Although the four opening songs are ultimately convincing: A catchy entry into the album is missing, offering neither an immediate sledgehammer like "Rocket Skates", nor a smooth chorus in the likes of "Tempest". Hits? None.

From "Hearts / Wires" the approach softens slightly, the band leaves more melodies to their ever-present, atmospheric side comes to the forefront, but without becoming tangible. Unusual, but very well done are the decent hard rock riffs in "Pittura infamante" - including "Uhh" - and "Ahh" -chants that are discreetly placed in the background. For even more exoticism, the guest appearance by Alice-in-Chains-mate Jerry Cantrell on the albums semifinal "phantom bride" proves that even a guitar solo can fit wonderfully into the Deftones sound. A soothing moment after the uncompromising, complex title track, that leaves you burning with Abe Cunningham's inventive drum beat and Moreno's earth-shattering roar.

It is easier with each listen to like their newest child, if you gradually unravel the tangled threads and find out that especially after the epic (L)MIRL, every following song is superb. The sound is proven, the songwriting top notch - and yet can not deny that the great enthusiasm this time fails. A damn good album it has become, only missing the last shot of genius, which accounts for their previous masterpieces. From the experiments - so it is rumored - to have taken place in the studio, few signs are prevalent on the final product. That "Gore" could be described as their weakest effort in the past 20 years only further proves their consistent high-quality output. "Gore" is therefore an update, which brings change in small ways and should completely satisfy their fanbase. It's like whining about first-world problems, though. Damn law of averages.
7/10

Deftones have always been consistent with one thing: Every album toward the end tends to have really good songs. I noticed this on KNY, Diamond Eyes, SNW, ATF