Review Summary: “Koi No Yokan” is a truly beautiful Japanese concept that is untranslatable. It is the knowledge one has that he/she is going to fall in love with another person.....Or fall in love with another Deftones Album. Read my track-by-track review and visit
“The songs are very different from each other, not heavier or slower, but more dynamic, going towards several directions, it’s heavy, but beautiful.” –Chino Moreno
Koi No Yokan is the seventh studio album by the Deftones. Wondering what this album title means? According to many sources, “Koi No Yokan” is a truly beautiful Japanese concept that is untranslatable. It is the knowledge one has that he/she is going to fall in love with another person. This differs from the idea “love at first sight” in that it does not imply that the feeling of love exists, rather it refers to the knowledge that a future love is inevitable.
With that said, when writing my album reviews, I detach myself from the artist’s previous work. Each album is its own entity. For example, when you watch a sporting event, do you prefer to focus on the current game or last year’s performance? Exactly. What’s relevant is NOW. In order for me to write a non-bias review, I listen to every album as if I were a cave man who just discovered a CD player. And in that CD player was Koi No Yokan.
Let me go track-by-track for you.
1. Swerve City: Great album intro. This song has a disciplined melody and moves your cranium like that of a bobble-head. About 1:42 in, we hear a guitar tone from Stephen Carpenter that is so spacey, so extraterrestrial, and so inhumane that you can only sit back and embrace it. 4.5/5
2. Romantic Dreams: Interesting intro. I don’t particularly like it but once Chino Moreno’s singing/screaming begins, you’ll be taken right back to that recognizable Deftones sound. This song is good. Nothing that blows me away but nothing that makes it intolerable. 3/5
3. Leathers: Oh Baby! This is the song we’ve been waiting for. Leathers in my opinion is the best song on the record. Leathers starts off like the calm before a storm. It is very dreary until 0:40. Then BOOM! The storm begins. It’s Hurricane Katrina. It’s Hurricane Sandy. No…Wait..It’s Hurricane Koi No Yokan. This chorus is absolutely amazing! I selected Koi No Yokan as the album of the week right after I heard this song. 5/5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPO81Fz4s2g (Link to Leather's video)
4. Poltergeist: A clap meets a snare drum meets a dirty ass bass from Sergio Vega to start. Such smooth vocals for such a rough song. This one is loud and is not intended for children 13 and under. *** sounds like napalm. 4/5
5. Entombed: Guitarists let us rejoice and thank Carpenter. This is the song we will be learning tabs for. A classic Deftones song that just makes sense. Each instrument fits in the pocket perfectly. This song sounds like the best band practice you’ve ever had. 4/5
6. Graphic Nature: Graphic Nature begins with an experimental drumbeat from Abe Cunningham. This attention-grabbing drumbeat essentially drives the entire song and sets the psychedelic atmosphere for the next 4 minutes and 31 seconds. Another standout song. 4.5/5
7. Tempest: The second (possibly the first) best song on Koi No Yokan. If one track could summarize this album it would be “Tempest.” Chino tenderly serenades his listeners atop a droning electronic melody from Frank Delgado. Until about the 1-minute mark when the drums and the distortedly aggressive guitar and bass enter. This song is completely dynamic. At times it sounds like the best Tool song you’ve ever heard. 5/5
8. Gauze: Gauze will be the most underrated song on Koi No Yokan. This is a seamlessly crafted and intelligent song; something that is always refreshing to listen to. When a band attempts to cross a boundary and succeeds in doing so, it always tickles my fancy. Gauze like Chino said above “it’s heavy, it’s beautiful”. 5/5
9. Rosemary: Rosemary sounds like a dormant volcano. Mount Vesuvius right before it erupted and Pompeii was destroyed forever. The delayed guitar and distorted bass build an insane amount of tension. When will the volcano erupt? Listen to Rosemary to find out. Enjoy the diversity of this song. 4/5
10. Goon Squad: After reviewing Koi No Yokan’s tracklisting, I immediately wanted to listen to this song. Sergio Vega’s bass guitar is like a locomotive train destroying everything in its path. A very intricate song, Goon Squad will satisfy everyone musically but others will be left feeling impartial about the sometimes-lifeless chorus. 3/5
11. What Happened To You: What Happened To You begins like a hip-hop song. Easily the most experimental song on the album thanks to Abe Cunningham on the drums and Vega on the bass, this is another personal favorite. 5/5
http://chewthedirt.com/album-week-deftones-koi-yokan/
