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Album Details

• Artist: Deftones
• Album: Koi No Yokan
• Label: Reprise
• Year of Release: 2012
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: solitaryman on 2012-11-23

Throughout their many years, Deftones have traced an extremely fine, nearly transparent, line between every genre critics and fans have labeled them with. Their reluctance to adhere to any specific style (at least not for long) has, in a way, led to the band living within their own niche. Within this space, I've followed the band from the early years, noting impressive statements alongside those that left little impression at all. Highs and lows, but each point marking a handful of new, refreshing twists that no doubt boggled the mind of many a critic. For some time now, I've been wondering when Deftones were going to create another album-length impactful statement. Their last record, Diamond Eyes, meant little beyond the oddly catchy title track. It's been years, many years, but Koi No Yokan is a totally unexpected revival of an album, breathing life into a somewhat subpar era.



There isn't a track on Koi No Yokan that doesn't belong. There are many tracks that sound like 2, 3 or 5 others layered atop one another, like overlapped jigsaw puzzles, but the effect is not so much overloading the sound picture as it is adding finishing touches to an otherwise finished product. "Swerve City" aggressively introduces the record, a very straightforward affair of downtuned groove and Chino's polished overlapping vocal melodies. His voice has aged like the finest of wines, showing no wear and tear in the studio setting. "Romantic Dreams" has at least three completely valid sections that would easily be worked into separate songs, meshed together flawlessly into one of the album's most intricate peaks. "Poltergeist" is the track that does the most for me. The groove is absolutely crushing, the mood is tightly wound, tense and finally relieved with a big, sweeping chorus. "Entombed" is, in a word, fascinating. Layering ambience and soft, electronic percussion around a pychadelic groove and a very powerful vocal performance, another high point indeed.



There isn't a track on Koi No Yokan that doesn't impress. This is, frankly, the first entire Deftones record that I left without feeling like I'd been fed at least a small dose of filler in the process. While I do not wish to start any arguments, it's become clear to me after dozens of spins (after awhile, I simply kept it on repeat not because I was prepping for the review but because I could think of nothing else better) that Koi No Yokan is my favorite Deftones record. There's more here that appeals to me personally than any other. But, I won't be so quick to think that everyone might feel the same. I understand there is an endless love affair with the likes of White Pony and Around The Fur, and I don't think Koi No Yokan will quite match up to those early successes in terms of sales or mass appeal. I think it's their best to date, however, and I'm interested in seeing who else might feel the same.   

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