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”
