Story time! Back in 2014, a younger Loveloth approached the pinnacle of his teenage angst and to help him combat this overwhelming force, he spent a lot of time listening to quality bands such as Korn, Slipknot, Bullet For My Valentine, Marilyn Manson and many other revolutionary acts that defied conventions. During that time I slowly started dabbling with melo death and really shitty metalcore but the need to go even heavier grew and fairly soon I stumbled upon two names that changed everything: Meshuggah and Gojira. I'll never forget the moment I heard "L'Enfaunt Sauvage" for the first time. I was blown away by how heavy and catchy it was AND the vocals weren't too brutal for me unlike black and death metal which I deemed as shit, funny how that works eh?
Anyhow, it wasn't long before I became a fan and that hasn't change since then. No matter what phase I was going through, I could always rely on Gojira.
Deftones share a similar tale but the key difference is they're the only band I still love that entered my life during that wonderful nu metal phase that I mentioned. Of course, I gravitated towards their earlier work back then. Needless to say, both of these bands are among my all time favorites but with time I started to dread the moment they wouldn't deliver. In 2016 both Magma and Gore arrived and I... loved both to a point of relentless spamming. I was definitely in the minority back then and I still believe I am today, especially regarding Gore.
Unfortunately, it seems my fears finally came to fruition and I'll go over why in greater detail and address what motivated me to do this - the absolute state of music journalism.
We'll start off with Fortitude seeing how it's the more recent offering. I won't lie, I was extremely excited when "Another World" dropped and I liked it even with all its simplicity. I wasn't that surprised like some considering their trajectory but some people were worried. That changed with "Born For One Thing" which showcased the more aggressive side they became renowned for. It's classic groovy Gojira and just like "Another World" it was streamlined and concise. So far so good, right?
It was but then "Amazonia" dropped and that fear started to manifest. The jaw harp intro was a great start though. Was this the song where they'll finally utilize tribal and traditional instruments to their full extent? Sadly, this was not the case which became apparent as soon as the main riff hit. Simply put, it sounds like something 15000 bands have done before apart from usual pinch harmonics and bends that Gojira love so much.
It's not bad, it's just... mediocre and that's something this quartet never represented for me. The problems don't stop there because the track ordering presented is so clumsy.
Take "New Found" and how much it breaks the flow of the record with its overlong outro. Granted, this is among the best tracks here as it contains every element that made me fall in love with the band. The signature pinchy riff, huge chorus, technical yet simple drums and a nasty breakdown. But that riff sounds familiar, it's very The Link-like with some Magma in there. This feeling of familiarity plagues the more energetic tracks and my problem with that is lack of heart and memorability to keep me engaged. Take "Sphinx" and "Grind" and how similar they sound.
And then the worst part of the record arrives, the annoying "The Chant" which I struggle not skipping. Dig the additional instrumentations and the message, especially the video which showcases China's crimes against Tibet, something so many people forget. Still, when you don't like the chant part of the song called "The Chant", that's a problem. "The Trails" is another mixed bag which sounds like "Low Lands" and "Born In Winter" but not as good. Ironically, it's one of the better songs here and the bass plays a big role in that. Honestly, I would say the bass is one of Fortitude's greatest strengths. I always found Labadie's presence understated considering how much he adds to the band's sound and I am very glad both Magma and Fortitude gave him more space to shine.
I honestly like the production too as it's much more "earthy" and organic-sounding unlike your usual overproduced, dynamicless mainstream metal albums.
OK, I'll stop myself there as I haven't talked about Ohms yet and I really, really want to.
So Deftones. Monumental band for me and instrumental in developing post-metal, blackgaze and modern alternative metal. Basically, there is a large chance a band you really love really love Deftones. Their influence is so vast that acts like Car Bomb utilize their dynamic and it's not hard to see why. We all know their story so allow me to tell you mine. During my angsty years Deftones had a unique role, they would provide that oomph I needed but also address my naive romanticism we all go through. Their sound is angry, sexy, lush and with every new record, they strayed further from their roots which I stopped preferring as I grew older. All of this culminated with their magnum opus Koi No Yokan which is in my top 5 records of all time so a new Deftones record is a very big thing in these realms.
My excitement was palpable when they started teasing Ohms but upon the release of the titular track, I found myself wanting more. Still don't get why they opted to have the closing track as the leading single but with the arrival of "Genesis" I was more optimistic.
Heavy down-tuned guitar chugs, clean chorus, expansive synths, Chino being Chino, this is more like it AND there is a slight twist. Lyrically, "Genesis" clearly references the divide present in not just modern day America but the Western world as a whole.
He screams: "I reject / Both sides of what I am being told / I've seen right through / Now watch how wild it gets"
Dude is this politics... in a Deftones song? As far as my knowledge goes that never happened so you can be sure that restored my faith.
Now to avoid unneeded story time, seeing as how much I've done it already, I'll just say it outright. Ohms is... fine.
Like Fortitude it's a mix and match of everything they represent as a band but lacks the spirit and exploration that defined them in the first place. I definitely prefer it over Fortitude but that's not that high of a bar to cross. I'll say this though, some tracks on here are absolute bangers, "The Spell Of Mathematics", "Urantia" and "Pompeji" being my favorites.
I find "The Spell Of Mathematics" especially captivating. It's got the sexy, sultry atmosphere only Deftones can conjure, a kickass chorus and a really nice bass line. All this then shifts to this beautiful outro with great ghost note-enriched shuffles provided by the ever reliable Abe Cunningham. There's also clapping during this segment which is another novelty which I found myself liking. I also like the fact Zach Hill of Hella and Death Grips does them. The following track "Pompeji" brings back another classic Deftones motive - water but it's enhanced with seagull sounds. This, when paired with ethereal post-rock like twangs really makes the verses pop.
Granted, these twangs are nothing new but then we get to another cool outro. Frank Delgado finally got a chance to truly shine and the result is this wonderful, very Vangelis-like veil of synths. Maybe now more people will realize he was a key member ever since his inclusion. I say this because I feel a large number of fans overlook his contributions so I am glad he finally got a section that's all him.
Another thing I have to mention is the production. It's handled by Terry Date who worked with them on their first four records and this is very important as I've seen way too many comments pointing out how "old-school" Ohms sound. "It's just like White Pony bro!" and the like. First off, White Pony isn't even in their top five records, secondly the production is... okay? Yeah the guitar tone is dope but that's what Steph specializes in, tuning and tone. And even with the nine stringer, he almost never utilizes that ninth string except on "Headless" and maybe "Genesis", unsure to be honest.
That's a shame, especially after the drama that took place during Gore's recording. Speaking of which, I much prefer Gore's production, it has such a distinct sound but that could be said about that whole record. Strange to see people praising Chino's vocals on "This Link Is Dead" which is riddled with effects that harken back to self-titled days and overlook, I dunno, the song "Gore" which contains his most insane vocal performance ever? Okay, this is very close to turning into a Gore retrospective so I'll stop there but I'll just let you know that the same backlash happened in the wake of Saturday Night Wrist which is their second best record in my opinion.
Let's get back to Gojira and the points I wanted to make regarding music journalism because it's extremely important.
Now the reason why I wanted to come back to Fortitude wasn't to compare it to Ohms as I've done that already. Rather, it was to showcase one of, if not the most unintentionally funny vocal parts I've heard this year.
The "I've been grinding and grinding / Oh, ocean have mercy" line right in the beginning of "Hold On". Now, I am aware of what this song represents and while I kinda feel like a dick when I laugh at that intro, I respect the Duplantiers for continuing to open up on their records. They never shied from that after all, especially on songs like "Low Lands" but the crux of Gojira's lyricism is self-empowerment and environmental issues and here Fortitude delivers.
I am sure right now some kid on this planet is bopping the shit out of his head during "Grind" or "Into The Storm", just like I was to "Esoteric Surgery", "Global Warming" and "Only Pain" all these years. It's just I find the songs I mentioned much, much better than what's display on here.
Alright, that covers everything I wanted to say, now for the reason why I am writing this. It should come to you as no surprise that both of these bands are huge, in terms of metal at least and how much praise they got but I find that all that praise unwarranted. A band shouldn't get a free pass just because they made some classics. Both of these records see the respective bands rehashing old ideas in an underwhelming or predictable manner. Interestingly, both Magma and Gore got a lot of hate for trying something different but that's the thing that kinda put these bands on the map. Regardless, the overwhelming praise and year end list placements from big names indicate something most should be aware - big record labels push their records HARD. To the point of "influencing" online magazines with you've guessed it - advertisement potential.
There is a reason why Loudwire's existence is what a certain washed out metal musician said about pop or another washed out metal musician.
And there's a reason why there are 6000 vinyl variants on a record that just got announced which then fucks over smaller independent labels because they are forced to wait due to pressing plants being over encumbered.
It's all about that money babyyyy and in the case of most music journalist outlets, a desperate bid to stay relevant with click-baity "journalism". 'Tis a vicious cycle but one not destined to endure... or so I hope.
And yes all of this is not the bands' fault but as a fan, I am obligated to speak my mind and offer you an interesting perspective. After all, that's why some of you are here and for that I thank you. Now, as your reward for reading through this, I'll provide an alternate and better tracklist for Fortitude. It still won't fix the weak songwriting, uninspired riffs and overall blandness but it's a start. Honestly, it grew on me a bit since its release but I still gravitate towards every other record they made bar The Link, don't like that one. Anyhow, here it is and thanks once again for sticking around, plenty of good things await us so keep an eye or two out!
Fortitude's alternative and totally superior tracklist:
Into The Storm
Another World
Sphinx
The Trails
Amazonia
Fortitude
The Chant
Born For One Thing
Grind
Hold On
New Found
Fortitude was released on April 30th 2021 via Roadrunner Records and Ohms through Warner Records on September 29th of 2020.