DEFTONES: KOI NO YOKAN

DEFTONES: KOI NO YOKAN

SCORE: 100/100

(January 8, 2025)


'Koi No Yokan' is yet another triumphant return to form for Deftones - leaning more into the shoegaze sounds of 'Saturday Night Wrist' to make another immediately captivating and mesmerizing project.

It's another deeply melodic and textural record - with deep soundscapes and instrumental depth being present throughout the hard & soft tracks. It's a strong metal album with heavy elements being brought alongside gorgeous melodies and layered instruments, and it's a mix of the experimentation present on both 'White Pony' and 'Saturday Night Wrist' while changing their sound and diving deeper into the blissful metal soundscapes explored on their previous projects.

The heavier songs of this album are done in a way that has never been done before, and this is an incredibly impressive step up in a direction that didn't seem possible. The heaviest of songs blend deeply rooted guitars with Chino's screams; all while incorporating the gorgeous melodies and drifts into new soundscapes through the heaviness. It's another incredibly atmospheric project that crosses new boundaries and makes for another wildly impressive album.

'Koi No Yokan' manages to transcend even more boundaries - making it an even more experimental and mindboggling project. It's near impossible to put Deftones' albums into words through reviews, and no amount of talk about their albums will do the sound of the music justice - it's an album you have to experience front to back and hear to understand, and it's one that absolutely defines just what it means to make alternative metal music.

The album has soundscapes that are truly otherworldly - and the album doesn't let up for even a second. It effortlessly flips between soft and heavy, and each different sound and emotion comes across as delightfully polished and refined. It's without a doubt one of their cleanest works - and it's an absolutely groundbreaking landmark in a genre that just keeps giving.

Deftones have always found a way to bend the mold of metal music, and them refusing to stick to a particular label or subgenre for their music made them that much more powerful with their music. Every single project from them is something new and interesting - and this album is simply no exception to that fact.

It manages to be a perfect blend of everything that is Deftones, and it makes itself known instantaneously.

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