"Deftones "seventh album ‘Koi No Yokan’ – named after a Japanese proverb meaning “promise of love” – comes 17 years after the powering assault of their debut, ‘Adrenaline’. It sees them rediscover the venomous snarl of their early years after 2010’s... ‘Diamond Eyes’. The reflection and experimentation of that record remains, but they sound more bloodthirsty this time around.
From the start, Deftones’ songwriting nous is obvious on ‘Koi No Yokan’... Opener ‘Swerve City’ is every bit the dangerous change of direction its title suggests, freewheeling between sludgy mounds of guitar and airy melodies while singer Chino Moreno’s vocals writhe at its centre. The 39-year-old’s lyrics remain crucial to Deftones, providing lightness in contrast to the blunt force trauma of Stephen Carpenter’s dark guitar shreds. “Time to let everything inside show”, he implores on ‘Leathers’, the album’s thundering centrepiece. “Wear your insides on your outsides”. So guttural are his screams, you sometimes wonder if he might be about to follow his advice literally.
It’s one of the band’s most consistent listens ...They settle into a mid-paced groove early on that allows their sumptuous textures to breathe. By the time the chug of ‘Gauze’ stomps into view destroying everything in its past like a guitar-limbed Godzilla, you’ll be utterly transfixed.
...[Listening to] ‘Koi No Yokan’ it’s easy to see why they’re so revered, even as they enter their third decade. It’s a shotgun blast of cranked guitars, bruising hardcore and canyon-sized choruses, and it’s mesmerising." - NME
Compact Disc
Tracklist:
1. Swerve City
2. Romantic Dreams
3. Leathers
4. Poltergeist
5. Entombed
6. Graphic Nature
7. Tempest
8. Gauze
9. Rosemary
10. Goon Squad
11. What Happened To You?
