I’ve been frothing to hear this album for a while now, and with the recent passing of founding member and bass player Chi Cheng who died as a result of injuries suffered from a car crash in 2008, it was with a heavy heart that I sat down and listened to this epic album from the Sacramento, Californian five piece. Deftones‘ 7th album Koi No Yokan follows their 2010 release Diamond Eyes which didn’t quite do it for me. This album however is insane.
Opening up with ‘Swerve City’, the track just slams you with its intensity. Vocalist Chino Moreno is on fire, and guitarist Stephen Carpenter attacks his guitar with such venom and sting that I thought my stereo speakers were going to explode. Drummer Abe Cunningham has always been as solid as a rock, in fact he has probably been one of my favourite drummers since seeing him at a Vans Warped Festival in 1998 in Coffs Harbour. With the addition of Frank Delgado on turntables and samples, and former Quicksand bassist Sergio Vega having filled in for Cheng since his accident, Deftones have certainly transcended their Nu Metal tag that they carried for a few years, and have become the complete package.
‘Romantic Dreams’ continues the natural progression of this world class touring act with Moreno’s vocals a standout, almost suggesting emotions rather than announcing them. ‘Leathers’ is a powerhouse of beautiful noise. I keep wanting to turn my stereo up. I think I listened to this song about five times on repeat. ‘Poltergeist’ is just as intense. I don’t know what the lads had for breakfast the day they recorded this song, but it certainly was more than 20 weetbix. ‘Entombed’ brings me back to earth with its rolling melody and use of delay and echo effects. One of the mellower tracks (and I use that term loosely) on the album, the song made me envison looking out over an ocean and getting caught up in the hugeness and nothingness of lost thoughts and memories. ‘Graphic Nature’ lifts the tempo again although in a more dark and macabre type of way. It would be a perfect soundtrack to a zombie apocalypse
I read that Chino Moreno himself has described his lyrics as ambiguous and sometimes impersonal, saying: “I like to be ambiguous when writing to a certain extent, and throwing something so brash [as Chi’s accident] against that and playing with it. And also making it sound dimensional. Giving the feeling off that it is raw and it is emotional, but it’s not just connected with our personal story. It’s not merely about our career and our lives, it’s bigger than that. When I hear the music, I get inspired to paint the lyrical pictures you describe, but I’m not always talking about myself.”
‘Tempest’ and ‘Gauze’ continue with more of the controlled chaos that Deftones are renouned for – earth fucking riffs intertwined with melody that these guys have made their own. ‘Rosemary’ is another of the mellower tracks on the album, plenty of echo delay and effective use of minimal feedback, ‘Goon Squad’ is a fuckin’ doozy of a track. Stephen Carpenter is a riff master. The attack he applies to his guitar is awesome. I wonder how many guitar strings he breaks over the course of recording an album like this.
The final track, ‘What Happened to You’ is the only song on the album that I didnt love and make me want to listen to again and again and kick the shit out of something in pure joy. In saying that, I guess that’s why their last album Diamond Eyes (as this song was reminiscent of songs off that particular album) didnt grab me as some of the predecessing albums had, namely Adrenaline, Around the Fur and White Pony. As for the rest of this album – wicked as fuck. If you are lucky enough to have a ticket to one of their upcoming shows, be prepared, shits gonna get real I’m sure.
Reprise Records
9/10
Reviewer: Adam Barbuto
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUHzPeQb-CA