Ohms alters that union with a higher emphasis placed on the band’s metal roots.įor the crowd who tunes in to hear Moreno’s atmospheric, romantic vocals, this may not be Ohms’ best selling point. Deftones’ music marries Moreno’s melodic singing with the cruel jazz of Carpenter’s ESP seven strings. The grinding low end and buzzing guitar work comprise Carpenter’s realm. The emotional, breathy, serene component of their sound is the realm of singer Chino Moreno. Here’s Ohms, album number nine, which is something of a statement on Carpenter’s words from two decades ago and change: The band is still comfortable being “pussy” when necessary, but Ohms chiefly indulges Carpenter’s side of the Deftones equation. Twenty-three years later that ethos remains central to Deftones’ character as one of the few mid-90s nu-metal bands to stick around long enough to mature into middle age-metal. The latter’s a comparatively rough release next to the former, raw energy and spirit in need of sanding around the edges, but no less compelling for the abandoned animal rage captured across its 10 tracks (11, counting the hidden track, “Fist”). The band was in the midst of recording their sophomore album, at that time untitled but eventually named Around the Fur, and they were on a high as they refined their style and voice following the release of their debut, Adrenaline. “A lot of metal bands are too pussy to act like pussies, but we’re not afraid to really express ourselves,” Deftones guitarist Stephen Carpenter told Guitar World’s Jen Wiederhorn back in 1997.

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