Gallantly Streaming: Deftones Deliver Their Masterwork

Stream Deftones' Koi No Yokan here, courtesy Antiquiet.

Having been a fan of Deftones since the riff for My Own Summer made me tap out in '97, and a longtime believer in their 2000 opus White Pony, you can take my next sentence to heart and know that I am completely serious when I say this.

Koi No Yokan is Deftones' masterpiece.

So many emotions arise when you listen to this album. And, make no mistake, this is an album. In a generation where it seems you either get a couple of hot singles and a pile of filler or a bloated, heavy-handed narrative that's cohesive to a fault, Koi No Yokan reminds us that it's still possible to use the format as a means of expressive flow. These 11 songs run the gamut, from the driving powerhouse Swerve City to the soaring Romantic Dreams to the soul-baring Tempest to the ethereal Rosemary. It's an album that doesn't have peaks and valleys, only varied levels of success; every song has a purpose, a valuable contribution to the effect of the album's whole.

Dynamic, energetic and completely awesome, Koi No Yokan is a shockingly engaging album. I may have half-jokingly awarded Baroness with Album of the Year honours upon Yellow & Green's release in July, but Deftones' seventh and best album has ensured that premature crowning is no laughing matter.

Koi No Yokan is out November 13 on Reprise. For another, extremely well-written take on the album, check out Johnny Firecloud's review at Antiquiet here; it's pure poetry.

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