Over 20 years since their founding in 1998, Deftones continue to release high quality alt rock music that defies easy classification. Among the many genre labels that have attached themselves to the band, progressive metal, post-hardcore, nu-metal and shoegaze seem to fit best. The band reached the height of their commercial success at the turn of the millennium, with the song ‘Change (In the House of Flies)’ from their 2000 album White Pony serving as a breakout hit. With three of their albums certified platinum and one certified gold, the band has showed impressive commercial appeal and outlasted plenty of other acts. 2013’s Koi No Yokan (Japanese for “Premonition of Love”), is their first album since the death of long-time bassist Chi Cheng, who suffered injuries in a 2008 car crash that would eventually lead to his death in April of ’13.
The songwriting on Koi No Yokan is taut and aggressive with pummeling drum beats and heaps of distortion accompanying lead singer Chino Moreno’s expertly crafted vocals. Moreno has always had a wide range, employing throat-shedding screams with ease and shifting to more nuanced vocals when the mood turns more pensive. The melodies on Koi No Yokan follow this pattern as well, with pure aggression bubbling over the edges of “Leathers” and an airy ambiance surfacing on tracks like “Rosemary” and “Entombed”.
Those moments are generally short-lived, however, and the majority of the album rocks incredibly hard. The best tracks, like “Tempest”, are a blend of the two aesthetics, threading the needle between aggression and introspection with a deftness reminiscent of Tool. That track begins in near silence as Moreno’s hushed voice employs listeners to “Take out the stories/ They’ve put into your mind/ And brace for the glory/ As you stare into the sky”. It doesn’t take long for the tension to mount, as ferocious power chords sweep in and the track quickly soars into the stratosphere.
With Moreno at the helm, Deftones continue to be a formidable force in the alt rock scene, and with another LP in the works, fans can look forward to another album packed full of goodies coming soon.
