Label: Warner Records
Released: 25th September 2020
Rating: ★★★★★
Nine albums deep, most bands have no right to be this good. A next step from a group who have never found themselves more than a stone’s throw from heavy music’s cold, beating heart, that ‘Ohms’ arrives in the midst of such a period of uncertainty and disruption only goes to highlight that long-held impression. Deftones are that one band you can rely on to deliver.
Provocative and propulsive to the last, ‘Ohms’ is almost the perfect distillation of the band’s past, but filtered back through something that feels current, fresh and exciting. Chino Moreno’s vocals act like a puppet master’s strings, pulling back and forth at will. Opener ‘Genesis’ starts slow but builds to a cataclysmic end, while the record’s lead single and title-track burns bright and long – a textured, muscular reminder of everything that makes the band great.
With a layered intricacy that sets them apart and delivers something new on every listen, ‘Ohms’ isn’t just Deftones at their finest – it’s one of the standout albums of the year.
