Each new Deftones release is greeted with the kind of anticipation reserved for an unpublished J.D. Salinger novel. Often the new tunes cannot help but be dragged by the weight of exceptation.
Much of this stems from the reverence reserved for seminal album White Pony, an experimental, moody piece that, at first, made the band pariahs in the nu-metal world, and then transformed them into prophets of a sound to which they never truly returned.
On “Ohms” the single that precede a new Deftones album set for release in 2020, the group seeks a middle ground. The extremes being mediated here are the ambient-experimental flourishes endorsed by singer Chino Moreno, and the headbanging riffs preferred by the rest of the group.
It’s a strong single. The band sounds engaged, and the riffs are memorable. Time will tell where this will sit in Deftones’ discography. At their peak, here’s a band whose music needs to be experienced over a long period of time to be truly appreciated.