It's not secret Deftones' 2016 album Gore was divisive among fans. The album notably featured minimal contributions from guitarist Stephen Carpeneter, and was overall a pretty large sonic shift when compared to both Koi No Yokan and Diamond Eyes. Now in an interview with Vulture, vocalist Chino Moreno reveals part of the reason Gore sounded the way it did was because it was rushed.
"With [Gore], we had a deadline, and we don't all live in the same city," said Moreno. "When we get together to work, we literally have to fly into a certain city. We recorded [Gore] in Los Angeles, and I'd moved out of there maybe seven years ago or so.
"When I go back, I have to live in a hotel room and basically clock in to the studio from noon to six, which is usually the hours we would work. It was super-structured, which I didn't mind, but at the end of the day, it was like, I'm away from home. I'm not sleeping in my own bed. I can't cook my own food. I'm living like I'm on tour. I'm in the studio every day. We gotta get this done. But this is not my element. I'm away from home.
"I think that feeling of just wanting to just finish something in a timely manner is why that record turned out in that way, where it was like maybe we weren't there yet. Maybe we hadn't actually explored and allowed what would happen naturally to happen. It was like, 'We have to finish this. We have enough songs. They're done. Let's go.'
"I think we learned from that process. Luckily, we're at a point in our career where we can take our time, especially these days, where we're all in a holding pattern. We were able to finish the songs [this time] and explore all the avenues."
Deftones' new album Ohms is out September 25 was produced by Terry Date (Pantera, Soundgarden) and is available for pre-order here. You can check out the latest single "Genesis" below, and also check out Moreno's rankings of Deftones' records here.
