10 Best Rock Albums Of 2020
5. Ohms - Deftones
It's gotten to the point where it seems like Deftones can do no wrong. Ever since they emerged onto the nu metal scene back in the day, these guys have toyed with their sound on each record to give us some of the most relaxing mixes of metal, shoegaze, and alternative rock the world has ever seen. Though 2016's Gore may have been seen as a late career high point, Ohms blows it out of the water.
Across these tracks, this is the best vocal performances that Chino Moreno has made in ages, as he delivers just the slightest bits of agony in between the chaos going on underneath him. That's not to diminish the instrumental work on here either, with Stephen Carpenter's riffs and Sergio Vega's bass grooves keeping everything low to the ground. However, the actual final blow comes courtesy of Frank Delgado, whose immaculate touch with programming and samples coat this album in an ambient atmosphere that we haven't heard in over a decade.
Compared to the other nu metal bands that they grew up with, Ohms is something that is both oddly familiar for Deftones fans while also building a new foundation altogether. Keep an eye on this one. In time, we might be talking about this album the same way we talk about Diamond Eyes now.