"We're alive somewhere else Still asleep someplace new"
This album has been out for a few months now, and I finally feel that I have something to say about it. I don't quite remember how I got in to the Deftones... Possibly it started with White Pony's (2000) song 'Passenger', which features Maynard James Keenan on vocals with lead vocalist Chino Moreno. This is still one of my favourite Deftones songs, possibly one of my favourite songs ever actually. I think these guys are one of the bands that I listen to that have shown a very clear progression. Not just changing it up between albums but progressing to a new space while building on the previous sound. They also do not need too much of an introduction in my opinion. Formed in the late 80s and with 7 albums currently out, Deftones consists of the aforementioned Chino Moreno, Stephen Carpenter on lead guitar, Abe Cunningham on drums, Frank Delgado on keyboards, Chi Cheng on bass (though sadly, he remains in a coma and is currently not with the band - good vibes to him and hope that he recovers!!), therefore Sergio Vega is the current bassist. This is a band that is still made up of its original members, quite impressive and rather rare I'd say. Perhaps this solidarity is what contributes to their perseverance, dedication and well, being awesome at music. Though typically the genre thrown around with the Deftones is some form of 'metal', for example 'alternative metal', it's still hard to pigeon hole them in to a singular spot. And with influences/favourite artists that range from Duran Duran to Lynyrd Skynyrd to Helmet and all that is in between, it's easy to see why they may not fit in to a particular sound. From crushing metal to soft rock, their sound can vary between moments in the songs themselves. This makes them an exciting band to listen to, you are often never sure what to expect on the first listen. Of course, their back catalogue is worth listening to, each is a strong album in my opinion. Though I prefer their recent stuff, it seems a bit more polished while still maintaining the raw intensity that the band is great at translating to an album. White Pony (maybe not so recent since it is now 12+ years old..) is frankly an incredible piece of work, pretty much the quintessential Deftones album.
Koi No Yokan translates to 'Love's Premonition', hardly a title you'd expect from an arguably "dark" band. But perhaps if you take it in context of the fact that it is the follow-up to 2010's Diamond Eyes, you can see why. After Cheng's accident in late 2008, fans maybe expected an angry, rough album from the Deftones as they continued on in the meantime. However, what came out was a powerful, almost triumphant full length. It was as if they were saying, "yes we're still here and life isn't over yet, so we'll pull through for our brother", they showed their true colours through their music and they didn't give up because they knew that's what their bandmate would want. (This is of course just the feeling that I get from listening to the album, to each their own, and Diamond Eyes isn't an ode to Chi, at least not overtly, it's still just a killer album). This was all after temporarily (hopefully) putting away the recorded album Eros, and recording a whole new album instead. But more than 2 years later the band continues on with Vega on bass while Cheng recovers, and releases Koi No Yokan. I read a few reviews of this album just before the release date and saw that it was being compared to White Pony, thus getting my excitement up even more. With this album, it's almost as if they continued on the powerful path of Diamond Eyes but had the cohesiveness and focus of White Pony.
Like Diamond Eyes, Moreno's voice ranges from confident and loud to soft and reflecting. To me the lyrics aren't so important from this band, and Moreno has stated that he makes them deliberately ambiguous. He has a special talent for conveying emotion without the weight of important words behind them. You probably don't know what he's feeling but you can take a lot out of it nonetheless. What he's saying isn't so important but how he says it gives meaning to how it makes you feel. With Chino at the microphone an innocuous phrase can become a powerful statement. And though I don't necessarily get the feeling of joy on this album, it carries with it a certain feeling of strong will.
A Deftones album is hard to describe, because it's just the Deftones doing what they do best. And this is no exception. Of course any fan will be pleased with Koi No Yokan. For me this is a continuation on the Deftones progression, the next step after Diamond Eyes. They perform with vigour, integrity, emotion, and power. It's the Deftones of 2012, and it's pretty fucking great.
Koi No Yokan translates to 'Love's Premonition', hardly a title you'd expect from an arguably "dark" band. But perhaps if you take it in context of the fact that it is the follow-up to 2010's Diamond Eyes, you can see why. After Cheng's accident in late 2008, fans maybe expected an angry, rough album from the Deftones as they continued on in the meantime. However, what came out was a powerful, almost triumphant full length. It was as if they were saying, "yes we're still here and life isn't over yet, so we'll pull through for our brother", they showed their true colours through their music and they didn't give up because they knew that's what their bandmate would want. (This is of course just the feeling that I get from listening to the album, to each their own, and Diamond Eyes isn't an ode to Chi, at least not overtly, it's still just a killer album). This was all after temporarily (hopefully) putting away the recorded album Eros, and recording a whole new album instead. But more than 2 years later the band continues on with Vega on bass while Cheng recovers, and releases Koi No Yokan. I read a few reviews of this album just before the release date and saw that it was being compared to White Pony, thus getting my excitement up even more. With this album, it's almost as if they continued on the powerful path of Diamond Eyes but had the cohesiveness and focus of White Pony.
Like Diamond Eyes, Moreno's voice ranges from confident and loud to soft and reflecting. To me the lyrics aren't so important from this band, and Moreno has stated that he makes them deliberately ambiguous. He has a special talent for conveying emotion without the weight of important words behind them. You probably don't know what he's feeling but you can take a lot out of it nonetheless. What he's saying isn't so important but how he says it gives meaning to how it makes you feel. With Chino at the microphone an innocuous phrase can become a powerful statement. And though I don't necessarily get the feeling of joy on this album, it carries with it a certain feeling of strong will.
A Deftones album is hard to describe, because it's just the Deftones doing what they do best. And this is no exception. Of course any fan will be pleased with Koi No Yokan. For me this is a continuation on the Deftones progression, the next step after Diamond Eyes. They perform with vigour, integrity, emotion, and power. It's the Deftones of 2012, and it's pretty fucking great.
