"Ohms" - Deftones New Album

[Moz La Punk]

Im not that negative about Gore but as you can see on the previous page it is bottom tire tones for me. Funnily enough ive had (l)mirl in my head for a few weeks now, even after listening to the new record, and i used to hate that song.

[FatherUppercut]

So after listening to new album, GORE seems not that bad as an album.

Lol. This has been a staple of many deftones fans for a long time. New record comes out, previous 'bad' record is suddenly okay. You do you man, but could you explain in more detail what you dislike about Ohms?

The Gore era is over, and I can take about 4 of 5 good songs from it into the Ohms era. I'll call it a W. If I take 4 or 5 songs from the Ohms era when its all said and done, I'll call it a really good Gorhomes EP and be on to the next thing

What? I don't understand what you just said at all.

think a little harder

[buflen]

Writing wise, this album is much more closer to Gore than any other previous album IMO. But this is done much better.

[Moz La Punk]

Would you guys say this is a better produced and a stef-engaged sequel to gore? I could see that.

Lemme explain more: i can definitely see chino's vocal melodies being in line with Gore, but the music is much more punchier.

[GR1X7S]

Would you guys say this is a better produced and a stef-engaged sequel to gore? I could see that.

Without hesitation... yes

[Qwerty1921]

If Terry produced Gore, it would be as good (or, bit of a hot take here, perhaps even better) than Ohms.

I actually like Gore production. What really brings the album down a bit, for me,  is how unachieved a couple songs felt (Xenon, Doomed User).  Makes total sense nowadays, regarding the recent interviews and how Chino sort of said that album was rushed.

Stuff like Acid Hologram,  Geometric Headdress or Hearts/Wires  still ranks among my favorite. Especially the 2nd one, what a banger'

[Moz La Punk]

Would you guys say this is a better produced and a stef-engaged sequel to gore? I could see that.

Without hesitation... yes

Makes sense as its the next record lol. Logical evolution and all that

[Moz La Punk]

At this point im hyped to read vesanics reaction to the album.

[Visionz]

Listened to it in full five times now and my opinion is slowly but surely crystalizing. Still very happy with it!

I think the chorus of Radiant City remains my favorite part of the record. Its sooooo good for my soul, I cant explain it. Almost all songs are firmly stuck in my head now and I love em. Even Pompeji grew on me entirely. I had some problems with Error the first few runs as well but its getting much much better.

The only song Im still not entirely set on, is Headless. I love the groovy sounds, but Chino's singing reminds me a bit too much of Gore - not that I hate that record but you know what I mean. It feels a bit 'aimless' for me, but that could also be because I just havent 'learned' the strange sonic loundscape of it yet. So we'll see how it'll end up.

For now Im still very positive the record is in the top half of the discography for me. This is in no way final - actually it never is - but if you'd put a gun on my head and I had to make a list, it would probably go like this:

White Pony
Diamond Eyes
Ohms
Koi No Yokan
Around the Fur
Self Titled / SNW (tied)
Gore
Adrenaline

Everything from White Pony to (and including) ATF is god-tier for me. Like ultimate classic and above the best works of most other bands I listen to. So that should tell you something.

Which reminds me that I really have to try and learn to appreciate Adrenaline more. Ive listened to it plenty but somehow never really got it (I got into deftones during ATF-days). I want to like it more, we'll see how that goes after the hype for Ohms has settled.


Edit: one other thing I wanted to mention - I'm so glad we have another 'heavy' Deftones record in the discography. Its not straight up metal or anything, and stuff like White Pony is my favorite shit, but Im just glad there's another record besides ATF that I can blast through my speakers when I really want some heavy Deftones stuff. That's very cool.

Adrenaline is 25 years old and not new to you, how will you try and learn to like it? Ive went from loving it to only revisiting it when i crave a track or randomly.  Sounds strange to make yourself like something after that long. Can u explain it?

[Hidalgo]

So after listening to new album, GORE seems not that bad as an album.

Lol. This has been a staple of many deftones fans for a long time. New record comes out, previous 'bad' record is suddenly okay. You do you man, but could you explain in more detail what you dislike about Ohms?

But my biggest complaint of Gore has been fixed, which is the horrible mixing/production.

really? where can i hear the Gore fix? cause it needs to be mixed/mastered again for sure. i never knew a cleaned up mix Gore exsisted

[Visionz]

At this point im hyped to read vesanics reaction to the album.

Hyped?  Wow

[LG95]

At this point im hyped to read vesanics reaction to the album.

First day: "I'm really enjoying this."

Second day: "Eh it's not as good as the self-titled though is it..."

Third day: "I love Battle Axe."

Just joking around, Ves. I think this will be your favourite post-SNW.

[buflen]

So after listening to new album, GORE seems not that bad as an album.

Lol. This has been a staple of many deftones fans for a long time. New record comes out, previous 'bad' record is suddenly okay. You do you man, but could you explain in more detail what you dislike about Ohms?

But my biggest complaint of Gore has been fixed, which is the horrible mixing/production.

really? where can i hear the Gore fix? cause it needs to be mixed/mastered again for sure. i never knew a cleaned up mix Gore exsisted

My biggest complaints on Gore has been fixed on Ohms. Thats what I meant.

[Inkblades]

If Terry produced Gore, it would be as good (or, bit of a hot take here, perhaps even better) than Ohms.

I actually like Gore production. What really brings the album down a bit, for me,  is how unachieved a couple songs felt (Xenon, Doomed User).  Makes total sense nowadays, regarding the recent interviews and how Chino sort of said that album was rushed.

Stuff like Acid Hologram,  Geometric Headdress or Hearts/Wires  still ranks among my favorite. Especially the 2nd one, what a banger'

Doomed User could be a classic if Chino's screaming was better on it IMO. Safe to say that Terry knows how to capture Chino's voice in its perfect form better than anyone else in the world. Xenon just needs a bridge and maybe a slightly less compressed guitar tone in the chorus and its good to go IMO.

Acid, Geo and H/W are also favorites of mine from Gore, but if Terry produced them? Fuhgheddaboutit! Error kind of reminds me of Acid and Geo, but with better production.

[Far away]

If Terry produced Gore, it would be as good (or, bit of a hot take here, perhaps even better) than Ohms.

I actually like Gore production. What really brings the album down a bit, for me,  is how unachieved a couple songs felt (Xenon, Doomed User).  Makes total sense nowadays, regarding the recent interviews and how Chino sort of said that album was rushed.

Stuff like Acid Hologram,  Geometric Headdress or Hearts/Wires  still ranks among my favorite. Especially the 2nd one, what a banger'

Doomed User could be a classic if Chino's screaming was better on it IMO. Safe to say that Terry knows how to capture Chino's voice in its perfect form better than anyone else in the world. Xenon just needs a bridge and maybe a slightly less compressed guitar tone in the chorus and its good to go IMO.

Acid, Geo and H/W are also favorites of mine from Gore, but if Terry produced them? Fuhgheddaboutit! Error kind of reminds me of Acid and Geo, but with better production.

I consider Terry Date the 6th member of the band. Kinda.

[Bergerac]

Hooo boy, this did not sit right with me at first time of asking.

My initial listen was a bit fragmented, because I couldn't hear Urantia, Pompeji, and Radiant City. I'm never the guy who's like 'Where's the metal?' but this time I kind of felt I was, and I hoped those three missing tracks were the key. Fortunately, that kind of turned out to be the case, to varying degrees. Though upon subsequent listens, tracks like Spell are heavier than I first heard, for whatever reason.

So, I had an odd first go through, but the funny thing is, I think that worked out very well for me, because my initial couple of listens are an upwards arc from 'This is well written but a bit soft', to 'yeah this is the happiest I've been since 2004'. When I was first listening, I felt that the writing was 'better' than SNW to Gore, but something wasn't there. I wasn't angry, but I wasn't pleased either. I needed those three tracks to contextualise everything else, I think.

So anyway, I'd obviously heard Ohms and Genesis already, and I went, in order, through Ceremony, Error, Spell, Link, and Headless, and I was a bit underwhelmed by the overall lack of speed, heft or winding vocal melodies. Then I finally did find Urantia, Pompeji and Radiant, and the whole thing glued and I was like 'Oh, thank God'. Then heard it all in order and it just works. My impressions of the album improved significantly.

Track by track:

Genesis - Anything that's fucking quasi-S/T, I'm going to love. Dark Deftones is best Deftones, sorry. S/T is God to me. Love the softer stuff like Entombed and Sextape, sure, but I'm a Battle-Axe boy at the end of the day. I like misery. This is dark, heavy, and miserable, and it's fucking great.

Ceremony - I didn't 'hate' it first time, but I was kind of cynically deadpan like 'Going hard with melodic guitar lines is going to be this album's thing, isn't it?'. Expectations being what they are I just wanted to be kicked in the face with something heavy, and it was a bad first jolt. It's grown on me a lot after a few more listens. Love the bridge. I think it's fair to say that this always has been a band for bridges, though. It's now a solid track to me.

Urantia: Instant hit when I did finally hear it. Much like Pompeji, I love how kind of 'poppy' the vox melody is. This is one of the best tracks on the album. But it's underpinned by heavy riffs too so it's a best of both worlds.

Error: Unfortunately there's usually always one track that's slow to land, and with me it was Error. The first half of this track just strikes me as plodding. The chorus melodies and bridge are fantastic, though. But it might always be a track where I'm kind of... waiting for 2 minutes...

Spell: This is an interesting choice of sound, kind of sultry, like Deathblow. It was one of the tracks I liked most that muddled first time, and it's grown heavier with subsequent tries, despite not being a deliberate riff shithouse.

Pompeji: Fantastic track. Love the accessible verse vox melody and then the bass heavy chorus. The end of this track is basically Deputy Andy crying over the sight of Laura Palmer's body. Seriously Frank's shit at the end of the track is, musically, the saddest part of the album and is mega feels. Probably the album's best track.

This Link is Dead: I loved how 'WGTB' Chino was going here on the mic but I was like 'Man, I wish the guitar was fucking heavy here to match the vox'. It's grown on me a bit more but that first impresison was that the guitars here were just too soft and I was like 'Did Stef dab too hard and forget to foot tap his Distortion?'.

Radiant: I had a massive fucking smile on my face when the guitars kicked in after the bass intro. This is the most fun track. Abe was right. This is the good vibes of the album. (Aside: Abe is Jesus. When Chino's shouting 'Jesus Christ' on Urantia's chorus he's just shouting over to Abe).

Headless: I like how soft and spacey this is, but I have to admit, there's a jokey part of me that's like 'It's Xenon: Second Chance For That Riff Edition'. It's like Xenon's front half fucked Prince's behind.

Ohms: I like it, though I do have a couple of reservations: A) I wish that the intro / outro motif was the main basis for the actual song, B) I think that the 'hit the brakes' transition after the intro is pretty awkward, and C) I reeeeeeeeeally didn't like finding out that this was the last song on the album before release. It's like spoiling an ending. The last song should always be the final discovery of an album listen.

Conclusion: THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN TERRY DATE HAPPENS. This is their best album after the classic 4. I'm very happy, despite needing to transcribe my initial gripes above.
Getting the album tomorrow and I'll grab some merch soon.

[Draken]

Ten hours before I can listen to this thing. This ride is a hard one

You just can't wait to say "two more hours" 

[Hidalgo]

pompenji. Chino basically saying if there's a Jesus/God, then he's abandoned us. like look at this mess, do something already. don't think he believes. me either, used to but gave it up 6-7 years ago. never heard him go at God like this, kinda dig it

also "this link is dead" is so cool, it sounds like WGTB's cousin or  little brother, lol. because how his vocal effects sound. the music isnt quite as heavy, but it's a banger for sure

not sure yet cause it's so new, but seems this might be the heaviest album they've made since ATF (but it's not always heavy like ATF and adrenaline. just a a bit heavier than s/t )

[endstand]

pompenji. Chino basically saying if there's a Jesus/God, then he's abandoned us. like look at this mess, do something already. don't think he believes. me either, used to but gave it up 6-7 years ago. never heard him go at God like this, kinda dig it

also "this link is dead" is so cool, it sounds like WGTB's cousin or  little brother, lol. because how his vocal effects sound. the music isnt quite as heavy, but it's a banger for sure

not sure yet cause it's so new, but seems this might be the heaviest album they've made since ATF (but it's not always heavy like ATF and adrenaline. just a a bit heavier than s/t )

Heavier than S/T? In what way?

[LG95]

Sounds like Abe's doing 16th note triplets on the kick drum at the end of Ceremony. Unexpected.