Showing posts with label Deftones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Deftones. Show all posts

Wednesday 30 December 2020

My Top 10 Albums Of 2020


This year has undoubtedly been one turned upside down by pandemic turmoil running amuck among the globe. Fortunately the music still flows, perhaps not as it would of been without covid. Having listened to less than usual this year, there was quite a few additional records I considered for the top list. Ordering out records is arbitrary anyways, Id say the top five here where the clear favorites that had defined some of the best music I encountered this year, although of course, this list only focuses on releases from 2020. Tomorrow I'll cover musical discoveries as is tradition.

 
(10) IGORRR "Spirituality And Distortion" link

As one of the more interesting takes on extreme music in recent memory, Spirituality And Distortion sets a landmark for once experimental ideas blossoming brightly into wonderful music. IGORRR has come a long way, evolving from a bedroom experiment into a band and now finding what ticks beyond the novel on a cracking record with little to fault.

(9) Plini "Impulse Voices" link

Its inevitable that a Plini record will end up on my top list. With such a high level of curation I will undoubtedly by engulfed by this Progressive Metal indulgence of melodic delight. Although little can surprise in terms of style and direction, Its always a masterclass in guitar and composition that I am a sucker for.

(8) Backxwash "God Has Nothing To Do With This Leave Him Out Of It" link

Fantastic discovery this year with Canadian rapper Backxwash making a fine impression. This short record is concise, to the point yet wonderfully artist and dynamic, fusing the darkness of Metal with keen Raps and trendy percussion. A fantastic take on crossover between the two genres. One to watch out for in the coming year!

(7) Haken "Virus" link

Having followed Haken for a few years now, they had yet to really strike a nerve but this record did that! Having hit a stride on their last outing, Virus arrives continues in a similar vein as these now seasoned veterans deliver a Prog Metal masterclass! Riveting record.

(6) Deftones "Ohms" link

The Deftones will always muster excitement from me. Gore was one of those records that initially seems exciting and fresh but with time tired to sound like one of their worst. I'm certain Ohms wont suffer that same fate. Their pivot in tone and inclusion of retro synths yielded something fantastic and lasting. Its amazing how this band keep reinventing themselves.

 (5) Zeal And Ardor "Wake Of A Nation" link

Zeal And Ardor have been one to keep a close eye on since their inception and this EP, despite being short, was a brilliant and fiery reflection on the racial movements spreading across the globe this year. The manifestation of anger and frustration into music darkness was simply brilliant and keeps me excited for whatever they will do next! 

(4) Code Orange "Underneath" link

A force in the world of brutality, Code Orange return with a focused vision, steering into Industrial territory and terrorizing all who listen with their manic ferocity. Infused with synths and glitched production magic, this is a real meaty slab of aggression to pick apart. The songs behind its aesthetics and design have really lasted the year well.

(3) Tame Impala "The Slow Rush" link

Loving this synthetic fusion with Psychedelic Rock, the return of Tame Impala gave me exactly what I wanted, which was more of the Currents magic! These songs felt a little sharper and the reflective tone of the recording was endearing. Over the year the songs have really held up well.

(2) Myrkur "Folkesange" link

Utterly charming from the offset, this pivot to pure nostalgic Scandinavian folk tales was stunning. I let it simmer for a while and then binged again in the winter months. Amalie Bruun's voice is sublime and together with the instrumentation they conjure a vivid sense of rural, heathen life surrounded by natural beauty. Truly endearing, Vinter was a favorite to play during Christmas. 


(1) Ocean Grove "Flip Phone Fantasy" link

Something felt special about this band right from the offset. Hailed as a Nu Metal, Rap Metal revival I had to check them out. What I found though blew me away. These guys are more 90s than the decade itself. The energy and nostalgic vibes are no tribute but a reinvention of old ideas channeled through a brimming wall of sound production that gives off endless energy. Initially it was my workout record, binging on it for months on end and since then I've been astonished at how its magic hasn't tired after so many repetitions. Even learning to play it on guitar now! Just makes it even better. Can't wait to see what they do next!

Friday 9 October 2020

Deftones "Ohms" (2020)

How is it that after a handful of spins, these ten new tracks feel like songs you've know for years? With each record Deftones pivot to a new shade of sound, a fresh take on a decades spanning identity. Title track and lead single Ohms flags the new direction as the group lean deep into their Shoegaze era inspirations. Its almost misleading as the most ambitious number to emphasize Steven Carpenter's riffing direction, now utilizing a nine string guitar yet he can't help but drift into classic groove laden chugs on half of these songs. They sway, cushioned below the hazy rising sun of Chino's sleepy voice entangled with ever present light airy synths that permeate the unique atmosphere of this stunning album, the bands ninth in a string of successes.

Opening with Genesis, eerie saw wave synths stir soft tensions as dreamy, sombre acoustics paint reoccurring colors to the canvas. In a moments notice it gives way to the slam of Steven's Djent tonality with the intensity dialed to the forefront. The synth remains, as it does throughout the record, sustaining a soft, warm haze that will in turn blossom many beautiful moments when barraging distortion riffs give way. Its the temperament of Chino's swooning voice that feels crucial to the swaying. Their musical chemistry never needs selling though his soaring cries to softer breathy speaking hits a home run, gluing it all together with a charm that never fades.

 On Urantia his inflections and pitch have an uncanny resemblance to Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins. With so many shared commonalities and parallels in music its actually remarkable how little of the record conjures thoughts of other artists. And yet still across its ten songs there is much diversity, especially when they deviate from norms as the guitar direction feels intentionally more explorative. When attune experimentation flourishes, the singular, textural synths often shine. Error is simply magical, no thanks to the spellbinding drone of its spooky swirling oscillation.

Its a particularly strong moment as it transitions into the albums best, The Spell Of Mathematics. Initially a sludgy slug fest of low end noise, the creepy synths break for esoteric interludes that eventually culminate with Chino ushering a ravishing warmth from its unsettled, chilling atmosphere. The composition highlights a strange tone Ohms posses. Its a foot a two realms, finding limbo as all that's glossy and gorgeous is in constant friction with an ominous, faceless lurching presence. Dark, chilling yet far from danger or evil it carves a place that feels like a lonely wandering dream.

Working with Terry Date, the production is no doubt a marvel. Crisp, clear instruments with depth, fidelity and character meet on a stage fit for straight forward music capable of blooming into dense walls of magical sound. Abe Cunningham continues to impress as he houses not only the monstrous grooves but the flushes where Deftones step further from their tradition. Early on in the record I feel like we hear far more of his creativity, deeper in its a little routine. The baselines too, often an undercurrent, play a roll, livening up much of the music with its added power in the dense mixture.

The Deftones have a deep authentic chemistry. Taking care and time with each record there is simply no denying their execution. Ohms is inspired, interesting and mesmerizing when your locked in. Its best comes from texture and atmosphere, the heavy persuasion a familiar one that works best when pinned in by the synths, Frank Delgado really gave this record a special edge. The one dimension I all too often miss out on is lyrics. Many of the lines I did catch onto felt artistic and poetic, I'm sure a read of the lyric sheet is worth while. That will be on the "to do" list for now and so will this record as I'll continue to binge for some time, no doubt!

Rating: 9/10

Saturday 5 May 2018

Deftones "Koi No Yokan" (2012)


Emerging as a forerunner in the formation of the short lived Nu Metal wave, Sacramento based Deftones swiftly made artistic strides to separate themselves from the scene and grow as artists. With the years passing by as they do, the band have ended up with a stellar catalog of records worthy of much discussion and praise. I always found It difficult to pick favorite songs and records with the Deftones specifically because their music is so inviting and persuasive. After six years with this record and another recent binge on it, I am once again in awe of Koi No Yokan for its sonic and textural beauty, a moment where the bands music transcends itself with a timeless presentation of deeply engrossing music with gorgeous aesthetics.

On its surface one might link the bands former two record together. The bombastic intensity of Stephen Carpenter's eight string guitars from Diamond Eyes and the blissful, color soaked experience of the melodic Saturday Night Wrist seem to embrace one another as the record cruises through dynamic movements. Transitioning between tidal grooves on its crunching guitars and beautiful landscapes of serine moods has a record gleaming in its own reflection as all elements seem to fall together for this moment. Like icing on the cake, vocalist Chino truely finds his moment here with a performance that lasts, illuminating every song, elevating the music with his infectious passion and swooning delivery that will have you singing along with every chorus.

In its less obvious persuasion the Deftones fire up their typical formula of hard hitting riffs and melodic counterparts that stands apart from their previous work. With a tighter inclusion of subtle textural electronics fleshing out the canvas and the aesthetic influences of Post Rock and Post Metal drawing in on the guitar tones, a sonic experience unravels as the line up of riffs drift into noisy, textural places with depth and grit about them. It gives the record another dimension, one that endures repetition with these dense and matured tones feeding back into the music its sounding out.

Beyond engrossing aesthetics, grizzly grooving riffs and Chino's sublime singing, the albums mood and tone is oddly palatable to its environment. Warm or cold, day or night, sun soaked or drenched in miserable rain, the power of these songs find a way to relate, however that may be my enjoyment of the record speaking loudly as one can not deny the acoustic guitars which often bring a dark, cloudy dreariness with them. Its powerful and perhaps that explains why a string of indulgent, melancholy moments can seem fit for any occasion, Chino's voice often leading as the respite from the dark allure as he brings us in.

Upon its release, Koi No Yokan was just another collection of solid Deftones songs but over the years each return to the record has pulled me in further. It plays front to back without a weak spot and so often do I loose myself as soft and subtle instrumentation strings you in to an eruption of mammoth guitar tones grinding out sonic grooves, morphing into expansive atmospheres of energy and beauty. With time the musics graphical pallet continues to outlast itself as its textural depth is endearing to the inspiration the songs hold. Its gotten to the point where I binge in ecstasy over how glorious this band are in this moment. I believe it is their crowning moment as a group, of course it would be wonderful to hear them reach these heights again and I wouldn't be surprised if they did.

 Rating: 10/10

Monday 13 June 2016

Download Festival 2016 Top 10 Performances


That's it! Ive officially been going to Donington for a decade and as always music festivals are a wonderful experience, Download being one of the best with three days and four stages of heavy and hard music to get stuck into. This years was the most subdued of all Ive been to, the rain came down as heavy as the metal and really affected the freedom to rock out, head bang and mosh to your hearts content, at least if your me and are not fond of being soaking wet and cold. So cocooned in my waterproofs and ponchos I did my best to stay dry while enjoying some great performances.

(10) Ho99o9
Hailed as a Hip Hop / Punk crossover Ho99o9 are often talked about with Death Grips in mind. This duo take their raps to dark, noisy and aggressive places with sampled punk guitars and a crazy rebellious persona. I only got to catch half there set on the forth stage but it was a blinding riot of aggression, noise and attitude that blew me away.

(9) Rammstein
 Not the first time Ive seen them live and probably not the last. You can count on Rammstein to put on a good show fueled by fire, pyrotechnics and an absurd amounts of fireworks. They were fantastic however I wasn't keen on their cover of Depeche Mode's "Stripped". An energetic show loaded with their classics.
(8) Megadeth
 
Thrash legends Megadeth came out playing a solid set with a few tracks from their latest album "Dystopia" which sounded fantastic live. Loaded with classics like "Hanger 18", "Trust" and "Countdown To Extinction" there was little they could do wrong.

(7) Havok
A classic Thrash Metal band I had not heard of before spotting them on the lineup. Glad I chose to watch them, very fast and energetic thrash like a cross between Slayer and Testament with many climatic and intense moments in their songs to head bang to.

(6) Amon Amarth
An undeniably great Viking Metal band of which Ive never quite clicked with. Their latest record "Jomsviking" was a decent listen and seeing them certainly helped me appreciate them more. Fantastic stage presences with dragons heads and rune stones plus plenty of fire!

(5) Korn
I've not been in the mood for Korn in a while but when they walked on stage I was sucked in. Playing a few more songs than usual from 2003's "Take A Look In The Mirror" their set felt a bit chunkier than usual and I enjoyed every minute of there performance. So good to hear them again.

(4) Periphery
This band well and truly won me over with last years double release of "Alpha" and "Omega". Their performance was tight and flawless with a thick and dense wall of Djemt coming from the four guitarists. It was an infectious performance of groovy head banging that sounded to big for the stage. Set was a little short but that's just because I didn't want it to stop!

(3) Deftones
Probably both the best and worst performance of download but at no fault of the band. Promoting their new record "Gore" I caught them a week back at Wembly warming up for the big stage and they sounded fantastic. On the day though the rain poured and soured what would of been a memorable show, Deftones lined up their more emotional and atmospheric tracks for the sunset slot on the main stage and in the downpour it still sounded fantastic but the weather sucked the life out of the crowd.

(2) Babymetal
Babymetal also suffered the rain with bursts of heavy showers delaying their set for over half an hour. When they finally took to the stage the crowd loved it and so did I! They are even better as a live act and the bands modern compression heavy production sounded sublime on the big stage. The girls danced along with metallic choreography and smiles to fire up everyone's spirits. Definitely would of been in the pit if it wasn't for the mud and rain.

(1) Black Sabbath
The most influential and important band in Metal history would always make it a historic occasion when they play, as part of their farewell tour the band get ready to close the curtains on their history spanning six decades. It was a flawless performance with Ozzy who can barely string a sentence together having no issues hitting all the words and notes while inspiring the crowd with momentary bursts of energy before shuffling back to center stage. Toni Iommi and Gezzer Buttler sounded sublime with the best guitar tones to grace the stage. The stand in drummer got a fair spotlight with a tame and lengthy set of drum solos leading into Iron Man and hearing "Into The Void" really made my evening. It was one to cross off the bucket list and I'm so very glad I waited out the rain at the front of the crowd to see them.

Thursday 21 April 2016

Deftones "Gore" (2016)


The Deftones are an American five piece band from Sacramento who have survived the test of time, once at the origin of the Nu Metal scene the band have steadily refined and evolved their sound over the years and have successfully built a large following of adoring fans, of which I am one. Whats special about them is that they have held onto what made them unique from the beginning, now spanning twenty one years and eight albums, not including a record shelved due to the tragic four year coma and death of bassist Chi Cheng. Deftones would primarily be described as an Alternative Metal band but their indulgent guitar distortions coupled with Chino Moreno's dreamy voice will have you hearing tinges of Post-Metal, Shoegazing and even Dream Pop in its colorful moments.

Their last record "Koi No Yokan" is my personal favorite and set high expectations for "Gore". My initial impression where that Deftones had reached out to a eerier, slightly psychedelic vibe however these ambiguities faded with familiarity. What the band have achieved is what they have always done, entrance us with the power of the low and heavy, rock us with the groove and smother it in tinges of hazy melodic color. This time Carpenter takes his experimentation into artful territories with riffs that push into all sorts of genre definitions. It comes together so effortlessly for the listener, at many moments dissecting the ensemble just furthers the appreciation for the bands vision.

 The records production is a marvel of its own, toying with heavy grooves, dense guitar tones, deep six string baselines and on the flip side Chino's soft voice, light reverb acoustics and tingly electronic keys it manages to find power and clarity without any modern over compression nonsense. For this the drums may find themselves a little buried but its all in the balance. There is a lot of varying guitar effects and Chino has a lot of production on his voice, from artful echoing to narrowing ranges around his screams the band utilize the power of a records production to further their vision.

With all the praise I have to give the band their was no breath taking moments for me, nothing that jumped out at me, initially I was hearing echos of old Deftones songs like "Minerva" and "Royal" however the eight string guitar is now just part of the bands arsenal. With each and every listen their was nothing I could complain about. For me "Gore" is a very solid and consistent record that doesn't need anything but itself to me indulge in. It plays through without a dull moment and is continually powerful without any theatrics or over emphasis. A closer listen to Chino's lyrics will reveal its a darker, sombre record but one not over bearing, its executed tastefully to suit any mood your in.

Favorite Songs: Acid Hologram, Doomed User, Gore, Rubicon
Rating: 7/10