Album Review Deftones - Gore

Over the past two decades, Deftones have been a band set on continuously evolving. While some groups struggle to stay ahead of the curve without alienating their audience, it’s something that the Californians have managed to continually master. With their eighth album ‘Gore’, things are no different.

Balancing their sound on a knife edge, this is an album that sees their own heaviness redefined. ‘Acid Hologram’ is a steadily paced yet unsettling track that shows just how skilled the band are when it comes to exerting their influence. While ‘Gore’ may not be a quintessentially, quote end quote, heavy record – granted, it has its moments - there’s something embedded in its DNA that make it feels huge.

The pummelling ‘Geometric Headdress’ manages to veer from Chino Moreno’s urgent screams into warm guitars and soaring moments, while ‘Doomed User’ somehow manages to feel both frantic and controlled, a perfect dose of adrenaline spreading throughout the body. For every grand statement the album makes, the results still manage to feel nuanced and subtle – monstrous riffs aren’t used to just make a scene here. ‘Hearts and Wires’ is a cavernous offering, ominous in its intensity before ‘Xenon’ weaves jarring electronic sounds together to create a powerful sonic web. Yet again, Deftones have created a real beast of a record while still showing glimpses of its heart.