with the ninth pick in the twenty-fifth round of the 2013 Desert Island Music Draft, i select...
Deftones - Koi No Yokan (11/12/12):
01 Swerve City
02 Romantic Dreams
03 Leathers
04 Poltergeist
05 Entombed
06 Graphic Nature
07 Tempest
08 Gauze
09 Rosemary
10 Goon Squad
11 What Happened To You?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koi_No_Yokan
Genre: alternative metal, experimental metal, shoegaze, art rock, post-punk, post-hardcore
well this was both a painstakingly difficult decision and a tremendously easy one at the same time. when faced with the uncertainty of where to end my draft, it made the most sense for me to bring things full circle, back to the first band i truly fell in love with, back to a group of musicians that still manage to thrill me to this day. here is an edited version of the review i wrote for Koi No Yokan last year:
"Koi no yokan" is a Japanese expression that invokes a sense upon first meeting a person that each will fall in love with the other. The phrase should not be confused with "love at first sight," however. "Koi no yokan" instead expresses the inevitability of deep, lasting love at some point in the future, rather than the instant physical attraction implied by "love at first sight." Those who have experienced a feeling such as this know how it craters an individual at their center. It is not a cliche; it is a transcendence.
That said, I must say that Deftones' new album, Koi No Yokan, is terribly easy to fall in love with upon first listen, and every repeated listen thereafter. I have been a Deftones fan as long as I can remember. In high school, I listened to the band's 2000 masterwork, White Pony, every single morning as encouragement to crawl out of bed and stumble my tired *** out the door. Drummer Abe Cunningham was my reason for picking up the sticks, and the band's gift for groove has always set them apart from their less-resilient peers. And while that groovy sensibility remains intact, Koi No Yokan is easily the band's most atmospheric to date. The sonic palette the Deftones have chosen to paint with this time around is lush, inviting, and dynamic. Whereas White Pony felt very much like a soundtrack for sprinting over the surface of a scorched Earth, Koi No Yokan is instead a starstruck odyssey across the skyline. Often, it actually plays like the album cover looks, like some sort of alt metal-scored version of Blade Runner.
The Deftones haven't revealed those depths of those layers at the outset, though, as opener "Swerve City" bludgeons its way out the gate with a sledgehammer riff that bounces like Meshuggah at a block party. You could hardly be blamed if your fist is drawn to the air repeatedly during this track, and you would also not be blamed for flashing a widescreen smile during the "oh oh-oh whoa oh-oh" of the chorus, a not altogether unwelcome nod towards stadium-sized grandeur. At two minutes and forty-five seconds, "Swerve City" is a compact track that somehow manages to flash all kinds of new tricks in its short span. Three-quarters of the way through, vocalist and second guitarist Chino Moreno plays a rather stunning lead, something encroaching upon the boundaries of guitar solo, a rarity in Deftones songs. Overall, it is just a stellar first track that wastes no time in announcing the further revitalization of a band that very well could have faded from our view due to unfortunately tragic circumstances.
Koi No Yokan is now the second album the Deftones' have recorded without longtime bassist Chi Cheng, who was the victim of a violent car crash in November of 2008 that jettisoned him from the passenger seat of his sister's vehicle, landing him in a coma that persisted until April of this year, when he very sadly passed away (please remember to wear your seat belts, friends). Sergio Vega, former bassist for seminal post-hardcore heroes Quicksand, stepped in and brought new life to a band uncertain of its future. The result was 2010's gloriously unvarnished Diamond Eyes, and Vega's contributions are certainly more in the foreground this time around. Right at the outset, the overdriven bass melodies of "Swerve City" pummel the listener with monolithic abandon. It's like being caught at the bottom of a waterfall, forever trapped in its undertow.
Vega's presence doesn't recede as the album burns on, either. "Romantic Dreams" features one of the nastiest bridges on Koi No Yokan, as well as a few surprises by way of shifting time signatures, another new trick the Deftones are unafraid to brandish with the boldness of a band fully aware of their identity. "Leathers" begins with an eerie, swirling synth and some ghostly guitar-picking from Moreno, but, after forty seconds of tension-building, Stef Carpenter's 8-string makes an unannounced appearance, as the song bursts it's own chest cavity wide open like the most memorable scene from 1979's Alien. Even the lyrics evoke such violence, as Moreno belts out the chorus: "Shedding your skin / showing your texture / time to let / everything inside show."
Opening with a series of hand claps (!!!), "Poltergeist" grooves as hard as any track on Koi No Yokan. It's got the swagger of Around the Fur-era Deftones married with the bizarre melodic sensibility of the heaviest tracks on their self-titled record. Carpenter meatgrinds a massive riff straight through the song, while Cunningham shows off his dynamic, head-nodding, beat-oriented flair. And the low-end is absolutely fierce, as Sergio continues to leave his mark on a band renewed by his influence. "Poltergeist" is all confrontation. Moreno bites down on his words, baiting the subject of the song: "Come on, just say it!! / Just say you like to keep this pace / just to drive me wild!!"
After the torrent of the opening four tracks comes "Entombed," easily one of my favorite songs on Koi No Yokan. It's working title was "Dazzle," and, from its opening notes, it's easy to see why. As versatile as the Deftones have proven to be across a twenty-year career, lead guitarist Stephen Carpenter has always maintained a slavish dedication to big riffs on down-tuned guitars. Of course, he's squeezed more out of his particular comfort zone than most ever could, but "Entombed" actually sees Carpenter finger-tapping for the first time on a Deftones record. Coupled with a tasteful balance of programmed and live drums, and some twisty, pitch-shifted bass work, it is simply... dazzling, and the resulting song is wholly unexpected, like some sort of crazy, late-80's electro-metal power ballad tinged with the soaring histrionics of Duran Duran's most arena-ready songs. The fireworks-laden conclusion to "Entombed" features an onslaught of cymbal crashes and a series of rather victorious-sounding synth stabs courtesy of do-it-all soundscapist Frank Delgado, a truly impressive and stunning send-off for a tremendously surprising standout track.
Urgent and propulsive like Fugazi at their angriest, "Graphic Nature" is rooted in the band's nearly-amelodic presentation of sensuality as hazard. It is a crooked, unsettling beast of a song, as Moreno lets the come-on's slide off his lips: "Tell me how you do it / every time it takes my knees out / still every time you do it / I'm surprised." Abe Cunningham's relentless beat underpins the song's quirky sense of melody, and it recalls the hi-hat f***ery and kick-snare syncopation of Deftones' classic "Digital Bath," but more threatening in its thrust, like splitting the difference between "Digital Bath" and "Rx Queen." Following this nod to the old is something entirely new for the Deftones. First official single "Tempest" finds them in hard rock waters, without once devolving into post-grunge reunion fodder. After lulling the listener into its gaze, the song grooves its way into existence like the fiendish lovechild of Depeche Mode and Soundgarden. Similar in scope to the violence of "Leathers," lyrically speaking, Moreno declares, "I'd like to be taken apart from the inside." It is an almost-startlingly catchy vocal performance from a lead singer who has taken his time in crafting a signature style.
Moreno continues to stand head and shoulders above his peers in heavy music. As he nears 40 years of age, it's becoming abundantly clear that Moreno has little inclination towards the throat-shredding of his youth, though he is still wont to unleash the occasional blood-curdler, summoned from somewhere beyond the edges of your better-than-average B-list slasher film. The weapons-grade blast of demonic possession that follows the hauntingly pregnant pause at 2:55 of "Leathers" comes to mind. But then there's a song like "Gauze," which is as beefy as any song on Koi No Yokan, yet features some of the most soaring high notes we've heard from Chino this side of Diamond Eyes standout "976-EVIL." Absent from "Gauze" are the screams that might have occupied its heaving borders had it appeared on a Deftones album a decade ago. Some fans may be disappointed by this absence across the length of Koi No Yokan, but those same fans have consistently been disappointed since the turn of the millennium, as Chino has inched further towards the melodic. These listeners have stunted in their growth, refusing to mature with the band, and Chino has called their bluff on this album. In my estimation, the Deftones are better for it.
"Rosemary" arrives with the sludgiest riff on the album, buzz-sawing back and forth at a creeping, dirge-like pace, as Stef Carpenter slow burns his way through the song with a grinding, gnarled riff, offering brutal 8-string counterpoint to Chino's understated picking. Frank Delgado also adds incredible depth to "Rosemary" with some equally-understated but haunting synth work, like part of a lost outtake from John Carpenter's Escape From New York film score. As the song's massive chorus begins to soften, Moreno plaintively sings, "Stay with me," like the world might collapse should the subject of the song dissolve "across the empty skies." It is such a commonplace sentiment, but so tenderly delivered and disarming at the same time. It's the Deftones at their best, as they balance heavy and pretty so naturally that one must wonder why the Deftones, an influence on countless metallers this side of 2000, are so f***ing difficult to emulate.
The beastly riffage that ushers in the close of "Rosemary" unexpectedly gives way to a soothing outro that recalls Moreno's guitar-wielding in his side project Team Sleep, which in turn gives way to the beautifully-rendered intro to "Goon Squad," Koi No Yokan's penultimate track. The prettiness doesn't hold up, though, as the song shows its cards after a minute-long build, offering a torrent of discord as the album winds down. Though "Good Squad" takes its time getting there, it is, ultimately, very to-the-point, very back-to-basics alt metal. And there's nothin' wrong with that.
Finally, album closer "What Happened To You?" sends the album off in stately, majestic fashion. If it's not entirely what the listener is expecting, it's also a truly welcome surprise, sporting a staccato-like beat and a dream pop bent, like some strange collage of The Police, XTC, Cocteau Twins, My Bloody Valentine, and The Cure. It's remarkable how the Deftones are able to coalesce all of these disparate influences into their evolution as a band without ever falling too far away from that unique sound their fans clamor for. Koi No Yokan is a triumph of unparalleled quality in 2012, another masterpiece from a band that has never allowed time, trend, or tragedy to hold them back from the furthest reaches of their creative drive. It comes with my highest recommendation.