After two near-perfect records, Deftones search a little on Gore (2016). The album was born of creative tension, guitarist Stephen Carpenter openly admitted his discomfort with its airier direction, and you can hear it: a contrasted record, sometimes brilliant, sometimes less held together.
Its best moments rank among the finest of the band’s decade: « Prayers/Triangles » and its floating opening, « Hearts/Wires » and its hypnotic build, « (L)MIRL » and its dizzying climaxes. But the whole lacks the unstoppable fluidity of Koi No Yokan; some tracks struggle to take off, and the record at times seems to hesitate between several directions.
It is an album of transition and risk, that of a band refusing to repeat itself even at the cost of fragility. One prefers this imperfect ambition to a comfortable autopilot. But in a discography this high, Gore stays a notch below.
Verdict: 7. Bold and uneven, with real peaks drowned in a few driftings. The most debatable link in a great run.
