In Review: Deftones - 'Ohms'

The first sample of Deftones' ninth full-length effort makes for typically headbang-able fare, yet the lead single from it's namesake album is sewn with a prescient, regretful, and almost universal desperation.

Posted: 3 September 2020 Words: Ellis Maddison

Deftones’ latest single 'Ohms' from their upcoming album of the same name, is a typically post-apocalyptic, emo-rock anthem. Beginning with a tumultuous concoction of high-pitched ride cymbals and jumpy distorted guitar, the fiery opening collapses into one single, colossal riff which characterises this song’s immense up-front sound and gears the listener up for the proceeding heavy rock verses. Chino Moreno’s prolonged vocals perfectly compliment the drawn out guitar sound, while lyrics such as “we’re surrounded by debris of the past”, and “we slip into our hopeless sea of regret” aptly fit the desperate feelings of longing and urgency which the song generates.

In full flow, ‘Ohms’ creates imagery of a dark, dystopian landscape and overcast skies, building a destitute aura that befits the recent denunciation of humanity that the global pandemic has inflicted upon us. Ending with a classic, fast-paced rock outro, then, inspiringly shifts the tempo in an attempt to combat bleak times, sending the listener into a headbanging optimism.

Ultimately ‘Ohms’ paints a gothic, existential picture of regret and hopelessness, but in an uplifting and empathetic manner that compels us to break out of darkness and into the daylight that’s just around the corner. This song demands to be played as loud as possible and undoubtedly keeps to the first rule of listening to any Deftones record: when you listen to Deftones, so do your neighbours.