Deftones
Koi No Yokan
Reprise Records
The Deftones are a
hybrid. Always mutating. Always growing.
They started out mixing heavy metal
aggression from Stephen Carpenter’s
crunchy, down-tuned, 7-string guitars
with vocalist Chino Moreno’s gutturally
charismatic hip-hop-style vocals. Over
time, the group channeled Depeche
Mode with atmospheric synth pop heard
on White Pony’s “Teenager,” and an
eerie Cure-ish meloncholy in Deftones’
“Minerva.” Seven albums in, the mixing
and mashing continues on Koi No Yokan.
A distorted guitar riff gallops in
“Poltergeist” and blooms in its verses
with Moreno’s breathy lyrics. Another
intensity-driven chorus-bloomer is the
bombastic attack-and-release “Leathers.”
New facets include hypnotic Jerry
Cantrell-style deep string bends in the
grooving “Tempest” and the brutal
Soundgarden-meets-Quicksand tonal
aggressions from bassist Sergio Vega in
“Swerve City” and “Rosemary.”
The Deftones still represent what was
great about the post-grunge, pre-boy-band
’90s. Further chiseling their musical
melting-pot legacy, Koi No Yokan will be
in heavy rotation alongside White Pony,
Around the Fur, and Adrenaline for years to
come. —Chris Kies
Must-hear track: “Tempest”