Music fit for a Gothic movie
“Ireject both sides of what I’m being told, I’ve seen right through, now I watch how wild it gets,” Deftones lead singer Chino Moreno screams at the beginning of the Alternative Metal outfit’s newest album, “Ohms.”
With nine albums in and 20+ years of experience to guide them, the group consisting of Moreno, Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Abe Cunningham (drums), Frank Delgado (keyboards, turntables, samples) and Sergio Vega (bass, backing vocals) continue to push the sonic boundaries of the Alt-Metal world.
For die-hard fans of the five-member group, “Ohms” showcases a band perfectly transitioning between their past and future. Less familiar listeners can hear, first-hand, what gives the Sacramento group longevity: Pulverizing arrangements juxtaposed with moments of clarity, electronic experimentations and dark, reflective lyrics.
An “ohm” is a unit of electrical resistance in a circuit, so with resistance in mind, opening track “Genesis” creates Deftone’s pushpull universe. They play like the well-oiled machine they are with Delgado’s synths and Carpenter’s eerie, spacey guitar setting an immersive mood.
This uneasy stirring gives way to thick guitar riffs with syncopated drums from Cunningham, allowing Moreno’s vocals to dynamically diagnose a corrupt universe. Its destruction ensues and a singular fragility pervades.
Time waits for no one and while only two band members are under 50 years of age, “Ohms” shudders with a rebellious energy of which aspiring rockers should take note.
“Sequencing is definitely something that we put a lot of thought and energy into,” Cunningham told Apple Music upon the record’s Sept. 25 release. Following that first chaotic high in “Genesis,” comes the melodic “Ceremony,” showing the sequencing that
continues throughout the album. Welcoming back into the fold, producer Terry Date who worked on their first four albums, this track recalls the song “Digital Path” from their debut album, “White Pony” (2000). Moreno’s melodic vocals are accentuated and countered by Carpenter’s inspired, frenetic playing that careens between clean and distorted sounds, light licks and sludgy rhythm.
“Urantia,” explodes with heavy staccato guitar playing and a cymbal count-in, which gives way to more syncopated drums. By the time Delgado gets his breakdown midway through the song, longing and sorrowful lyrics in the vein of Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins) makes you wish this song came out some 20+ years ago so it could be included on the superb, angsty Alt-Metal soundtrack that was featured on the full-length Gothic film, “The Crow” (1994).
Not content to just repeat a formula they’ve proven to be successful, “The Spell of Mathematics” underscores Deftones experimental flair. This behemoth observes multiple tempo changes, guitar that sacrifices ego for the mood of the piece, more robust harmonies, hand claps, finger snaps and some of the most haunting synths you’ll find outside of Halloween.