DEFTONES - Ohms

People have been talking about the follow-up to “Gore” (2016) by US band Deftones since 2017 — a fundamental act in nu-metal, a genre in which they stand out for quality and creativity. Their ninth album, which could potentially have arrived as early as 2019 but only reached our eardrums towards the end of this 2020, is a long-awaited return, produced moreover by Terry Date himself, who hadn't been in the production chair for the band since the never-released album “Eros” (2008). The striking cover art, signed by Frank Maddocks, continues instead a collaboration now twenty years old, since his is the iconic artwork for “White Pony” (2000) and every record since. These are all elements of continuity, not mere anecdote, that let us frame the record even before we press the fateful “play” button. It's not such a given matter, though, since over the course of their long career there have been losses to mourn and a few attempts to shift the sound.

This time, however, Deftones carry on with the settling-in already glimpsed on “Gore”, trying to refine their peculiar blend of violent and melancholy, distorted and melodic, muscular and intimate. Having largely trimmed away the more explosive tendencies that used to push the intensity towards screaming and noise – heard here above all on “This Link Is Dead” – the band doesn't do much to surprise, aiming instead to organize their emotional and stylistic range in a mature, coherent way. They do so across 10 tracks in 46 minutes, cruising along without any particular jolts.

The blend of grunge melody and groovy nu-metal touches found in moments like “Genesis”, “Radiant City” and “Ohms” is once again singer Chino Moreno's show, though he shares the stage throughout the album above all with Stephen Carpenter's guitars, often drawn to echoes of Smashing Pumpkins and wielding a new nine-string for the occasion. The pairing of power and emotion also guides “Ceremony”, finding its fullest expression in “Urantia”, a track in which the band flexes a muscle it has always excelled at: music that shifts shape on both a stylistic and emotional level.

“Error” likewise deploys thunderous guitars before dissolving into a long psychedelic coda, and the following “The Spell Of Mathematics” applies a similar formula, fusing atmospheric passages with powerful bursts of metallic roar; “Headless” flips the ratio, folding little violence into a great deal of melodic melancholy.

In other words, on their ninth album Deftones don't abandon their divided soul and their contrasts, so much so that “Pompeji” closes with a long synth digression into ambient territory.

Familiar in its arrangements and recognizable in its style, with all the hallmarks of a long and fruitful career, “Ohms” reminds us that Deftones are still in good shape, even if they won't be driving any musical innovation. It's a reassuring listen, with no throwaway tracks, and yet nothing on offer here seems capable of making any real difference, either to their career or, even less so, to music at large.

The enthusiasm of international critics, certified by a Metascore of 88/100, is at least partly justified by the fact that, of their generation, they're among those who have aged decidedly the best.

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12/10/2020