Deftones - Ohms
DeftOhms
When I read it, it didn’t sound right.
Ohms is Deftones’ 9th album?! Are you sure?
I listed them all out, and how about that. 9 albums (10 if you include the B-sides and covers album) worth of songs from one of my favorite bands. I’ve been aboard the Deftones bandwagon since their first album Adrenaline and I never bailed. Think about your favorite bands from when you were young - how many of them are still together, much less releasing music? It’s been 20+ years since high school for me, lots of bands have come and gone but Deftones are one of the few groups left that I still follow closely. Obviously I enjoy their music, but what else keeps me interested in them? Whether it’s Deftones or any other band I feel the same way about, they each have a unique quality about them that keeps me engaged. I figured out that Deftones are special to me because their music has always reflected either what my life was like at the time or how I felt during that time:
Adrenaline (1995) - My junior/senior year of high school. Even though I was young and angry, I showed promise. Just like this album.
Around the Fur (1997) - Right out of high school. Not the best chapter of my story, but I’m still growing. As did the Deftones with this album, expanding their sound and maturing musically. Although, Deftones did a lot more maturing than I did in this time.
White Pony (2000) - I’m slowly starting to get my life together, gradually making progress. They took their time writing and recording White Pony, to experiment and make the album they truly wanted to make. White Pony was the progression that I was supposed to make, but didn’t. (Sidenote: I’m waiting patiently for Black Stallion to be released)
Deftones (2003) - If White Pony was a peak, then Deftones was a valley. Around this time I felt like a lot of things were “one foot forward two steps back” in my life. The songs on this self-titled album are more eclectic than any of the others, and although the songs are fine I couldn’t really get into it (except Minerva, one of my favorite Deftones songs).
Saturday Night Wrist (2006) - At this point in my life I’m feeling like I need to make some changes, mix things up a little. After recording all of their previous albums with producer Terry Date, they recording SNW with Bob Ezrin at the helm. Like the self-titled album, SNW didn’t really resonate with me. Changes may not necessarily work out the way you want them to, but it doesn’t mean that it was a bad idea.
Diamond Eyes (2010) - After trying to find myself, I’m starting to figure life a bit more. After a couple of uneventful albums, Diamond Eyes reminds me why I love Deftones so much; the energy, the groovy songs, the passion. gunsrazorsknives
Koi No Yokan (2012) - 2012 was a great year - I got married, the LA Kings won their first Stanley Cup, and Deftones released KNY.
Gore (2016) - Slight lull in my professional life. The songs on this album are ok, but nothing special. There’s a reason why I (lovingly!) refer to this album as Bore.
Which brings us to Ohms (2020). My life is as good as it’s ever been, but I’m far from a finished product. At this point, how does my life run parallel with Ohms? I’ll let lead singer (and my doppelganger, if you’re drunk and squinting hard enough) Chino Moreno explain, from Kerrang! magazine:
“Some of the themes that reappear in the record are just about being able to recognize the choices that you made in life and figure out how to change certain things you might not like about yourself.”
Bingo! My journey to self-realization has been met with obstacles and detours, mostly of my own doing. While my continued expedition is perpetually ongoing, Deftones have seem to have already found themselves. As I continue my upward trajectory, Deftones have hit their peak with their best yet to come. Still running parallel, but at different points of the line.
“Urantia” is an immediate favorite, with not one but two choruses that I can’t help but sing every time. “Genesis” sets the tone musically and lyrically (“I reject…both sides of what I’ve been told…”). You’ll fall under the “The Spell of Mathematics.” I dare you to listen to “Radiant City” and not groove to it. That riff, my goodness. I wish I had 4 arms so that I could air drum and air bass that song at the same time. If you want to hear seagulls and think you’re at the beach, check out “Pompeji.” The title track is simple and beautiful, and a great way to end.
It’s way too early to rank this album amongst the rest of the Deftones catalog, but if I had to I would place it somewhere in the middle. (Around the Fur and White Pony go back and forth between being my favorite album, depending on which one I listened to last). Ohms is the album you make someone listen to if that person has never heard a Deftones song in their life, an album that fully encapsulates 30+ years of being a band, covering all their different sounds, rhythms, and beats. You want heavy? You got it. You want moody ambiance? Done deal. Feeling energetic? You’re in the right place.
You can say I grew up with Deftones. Or in a weird way, did they raise me? They definitely influenced my post-high school years. They were the cool older brothers that gave me life advice while buying me beer. They helped me get through some rough patches, and for that I am forever indebted to them. Supporting them is easy when they consistently release quality music.
I’m in a better place, but that doesn’t mean I can stop improving.
I finally achieved balance.
Approaching a delayed rebirth.
Just like the Deftones.
No one alive has taken me here
Nothing I tried replaced your tricks
Whenever I choose to break in again
Promise me now you will follow me in
'Cause nobody else cuts me the same
You've pulled me into a permanent trance
If ever you choose to break in again
I promise you now, I'll follow you in
Promise you now, I'll follow you in
- Deftones - “Radiant City”
