December 2020 Feature Release - The Gateway Edition
It's now December which of course means that we'll be nominating a brand new monthly feature release for each clan. This essentially means that we're asking you to rate, review & discuss our chosen features for no other reason than because we enjoy the process & banter. We're really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on our chosen releases so don't be shy.
This month's feature release for The Gateway is the brand new ninth album "Ohms" from Californian alternative metal legends Deftones which seems to been very well received by the band's huge audience. Let's see if our members feel it's up to Deftones strong legacy.
https://metal.academy/releases/23685
Review is up. Not a bad record tbh, just very safe and sterile to my ears. Feels like the band are trying to recapture old vibes from twenty years ago and force them upon the listener as opposed to genuinely sharing something with us. Better than Gore (I mean - how could it not be) but far from their best.
I'll add more to this after I relisten to it, but I'll leave the description that I put for it on my 2020 list here for starters:
"Deftones are back with another Deftones album. This Deftones album has some serious Deftones in it as they attempt to be as Deftones as possible in this new Deftones album. They really Deftones it up in every possible Deftones way.
...It's a Deftones album, what else do you want from me?"
Still liked it.
3.5/5
Well, I don't think that any of us could have described Ohms any better than Xephyr ladies and gentlemen. It's over; time to go home!
As I somewhat mentioned in my review back when this album came out, it is an improvement from Gore, the sound is more natural and it fits in the same vein as so many longtime Deftones such as myself will appreciate. However, if you've come to this album expecting a new, fresh sound from the Deftones, one that will not follow in the shadows of the behemoth that is White Pony in front of it, you've come to the wrong place. Only for longtime fans at this point.
6/10
I clearly have different ears to everyone else as I absolutely loved "Ohms". It's a very high quality example of the modern alternative metal sound & I'm not surprised by the positive response it's received from both the critics & the public. I think it's some of Deftones' best work & the fact that I've opted for a very impressive 4.5/5 rating has surprised me as much as anyone.
Here's my full review:
After giving this another spin alongside White Pony for comparison, I have to slightly retract my first statement and align more with Daniel, even though I still don't think it's worthy of 4.5/5 praise. Ohms is definitely a modernization of their style and while I may have missed the stepping stone considering I haven't checked out Koi no Yokan, it's definitely a bit more than "just another Deftones album". It's much cleaner and tighter than White Pony, and while I think that makes it a bit less interesting overall, I also think that the mixing and balance of this album falls more in line with what I like. Although White Pony has this sort of unhinged and in-your-face atmosphere, most of that comes from Moreno's moans and breathing being piped directly into the listener's eardrums at all points in time. Ohms is more moderate and puts the mixing right in the pocket of where Deftones' sound probably should be, for better or worse. There are some tracks that go back to the older sound, like the beginning of "This Link Is Dead" and "The Spell of Mathematics", but it's not a constant assault. The synth experimentation also fits in really well, never feeling like it's out of place. It also should be noted that there are some hefty riffs in this one that are great as standalone features instead of always being accented by the vocals like White Pony tended to do. "Genesis", "Urantia", and "Headless" all have great chuggy riffs that hit harder than most of their previous material.
So yeah, I think I wrote this one off a bit too soon. It's still a Deftones album, but it's a good Deftones album. Not good enough for me to bump it up to a 4/5, but I came around to it after a few more listens.