Deftones - Ohms (2020) (Full Album)

Ohms (stylized as _Ohms on physical editions)[1] is the ninth studio album by the American alternative metal band Deftones, released on September 25, 2020, through Reprise Records.[2][3] The album was produced by Terry Date, making it their first collaboration since the unreleased Eros and the final with bassist Sergio Vega who departed from the band in early 2021. The album was preceded by the release of two singles: "Ohms" and "Genesis". The song "Ceremony" was later released as a single. Ohms received acclaim from critics.[4] The title track was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance in 2022.

Background and production
Deftones released their eighth studio album Gore on April 8, 2016, via Warner Bros. Records.[5] As part of the album promotion, the band embarked on an extensive US tour in the summer of 2016, with support from Refused and Spotlights.[6] The following summer, they performed a coheadlining North American tour with Rise Against, featuring support from Thrice.[7] In 2018, Deftones hosted the first annual Dia de los Deftones festival at Petco Park, featuring performances from artists like Mike Shinoda, Rocket from the Crypt, and Doja Cat.[8]

In a 2017 interview with NME, vocalist Chino Moreno said that Deftones had "talked about getting together sooner [rather] than later" on a new album.[9] On March 28, 2018, the Deftones Instagram account shared images of the band at a recording studio, one of which was captioned "Someone say jam?!".[10] That May, Moreno told Rock.com.AR that the band had "six or seven new songs, which are still mutating".[11] Deftones provided another update on the album in April 2020, with drummer Abe Cunningham saying in an Instagram video that, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, "it's been a bit difficult to get everyone in the same room", but that they were in the process of mixing the new album, and were aiming for a late 2020 release date.[12] Deftones worked with producer Terry Date on Ohms, their first collaboration since the unreleased Eros album in 2008.[13] Recording took place at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles and Trainwreck Studios in Seattle.[14]

Composition
Musically, Ohms is widely described as a return to the band's core alternative metal style.[15][16][17][18] The album was also described as shoegaze[18] and post-rock.[18] Classic Rock magazine added a different assessment, calling the album "dream pop with a metallic edge".[19] It is the first Deftones album since their eponymous 2003 album to be produced by Terry Date, although the band had worked with him during the sessions of the unreleased album Eros in 2008.[20] It is also their first album in which Stephen Carpenter utilizes a nine-string guitar.[21]

Packaging
The cover art was designed by Frank Maddocks, who has worked with Deftones on each of their albums since White Pony.[3] There are a total of 12,995 dots on the cover art.[22] Many fans believed that the design pays tribute to the band's original bassist Chi Cheng, who died in 2013, as the eyes that appear on the cover art line up closely with a photo of him. Band drummer Abe Cunningham stated in an interview that this was merely a coincidence, however. He added that the cover art idea reminded him of the 1980s, specifically the music video for Prince's 1984 song "When Doves Cry".[23] Shortly before the album's release, Deftones launched the "Adopt a Dot" campaign, allowing for people to purchase one of the dots on the artwork as their own. A photo of the purchaser would then appear as the dot they purchased and be a part of the "Ohms Adopt a Dot digital experience" viewable online. All of the proceeds from the campaign were given to both the UC Davis Children's Hospital and Crew Nation relief fund.[22]

Promotion
The band began teasing the album's release with a week-long digital campaign in August 2020. Deftones released cryptic social media posts, their official website and animations through Spotify's Canvas feature that when solved revealed the word "ohms" and longitudinal coordinates for a billboard in Los Angeles teasing the album artwork.[24][25] The campaign concluded with a formal announcement for Ohms and a music video for the album's lead single, "Ohms".[2] The music video for "Ohms" was directed by Rafatoon and featured what Rolling Stone described as, "band performance video interspersed with scenes from a dystopian world, mirroring the musically and lyrically heavy song sentiments."[3] At the time of release, vocalist Chino Moreno described "Ohms" as a "a good scope of where this record's at,"[26] though in a separate interview producer Terry Date didn't feel like the song was a good choice for the album's lead promotional track.[27]

Deftones were originally scheduled to tour North America in support of Ohms with Gojira and Poppy in July to September 2020.[28] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tour was postponed until 2021.[29]

Belching Beaver released a limited edition pale ale beer named after the album in 2020.

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Chino Moreno; all music is composed by Deftones (Stephen Carpenter, Abe Cunningham, Frank Delgado, Chino Moreno, Sergio Vega)

Ohms track listing[1]
No. Title Length
1. "Genesis" 5:17
2. "Ceremony" 3:27
3. "Urantia" 4:30
4. "Error" 4:50
5. "The Spell of Mathematics" 5:27
6. "Pompeji" 5:25
7. "This Link Is Dead" 4:37
8. "Radiant City" 3:35
9. "Headless" 4:59
10. "Ohms" 4:10
Total length: 46:22
Personnel
Personnel adapted from liner notes.[1]

Deftones

Chino Moreno − vocals, rhythm guitar
Stephen Carpenter − lead guitar
Abe Cunningham − drums
Frank Delgado − samples, keyboards
Sergio Vega − bass
Additional personnel

Zach Hill - additional finger snaps on "The Spell of Mathematics"
Terry Date - production, mixing
Deftones – production
Howie Weinberg - mastering
Will Borza - mastering assistant