SOUND BITES

  Once a band reaches a quarter century of existence, it's usually safe to say that they've amassed themselves quite a career; so as to say, it's rare for a band to survive that long without exhibiting a willingness to grow and challenge themselves. Inevitably, you'll lose some of your core fans along the way, but hopefully you're able to strike curiosity in the hearts of a new generation of fans to balance the books, as it were. With respect to the AC/DCs of the world, a long career rinsing and repeating the same thing may keep your core audience happy, but it doesn't exactly do wonders when it comes to retaining relevance. Deftones' first eight records are a testament to this, rising up on the cusp of the crushing wave of nu-metal only to break off from the crowd by incorporating alternative and gothic elements into their core sound while maintaining the edge that longtime fans have always loved them for. Occasionally, Deftones have been accused of strayin...

Just about a decade ago, Deftones were about at the end of the line. Saturday Night Wrist , their fifth record, was released to an increasingly indifferent fan base which was starting to be treated in kind by the band (in a recent interview with Spin, Chino Moreno called Saturday Night Wrist boring). It wouldn't have been all that surprising if that was that, and Deftones sadly faded into obscurity. Of course, we know now that this wasn't the case. Prompted by the tragic accident that ultimately claimed the life of bassist Chi Cheng, Deftones found a renewed sense of purpose, marking 2010's Diamond Eyes a bittersweet return to form. That Deftones trumped that record just two years later wasn't expected, but Koi No Yokan was so explosive and expansive that it didn't just blow away every Deftones record since White Pony , it was flat out my favourite record of the year. Its striking balance of beauty and brutality, an oft-attempted facet of the band's ...

DEFTONES Tempest From: Koi No Yokan Released: November 13 A lot of folks were happy for Deftones when 2010's Diamond Eyes exceeded expectations after a couple of uneven albums saw their stock fall; it was good for the band to move in different directions, but everyone knew that the quality decrease from 2000's White Pony was palpable. With its hard rock edges and smooth pop sheen coming together to form a uniquely digestible metallic whole, Diamond Eyes was seen (though none dared say it) as a pleasantly surprising late-career highlight, a nice one to remember them by when they eventually faded away. Needless to say, I feel like a stone cold fool for thinking that, because Koi No Yokan isn't just better than Diamond Eyes , it's the most fearsome challenger to White Pony as the best record Deftones have ever made. There's more urgency, more passion, more... everything . And, when it comes to singles, even the iconic riff of My Own Summer is trumped...

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 con...

This post was going to start with a stream of Green Day's new album, but: a) The NME exclusive stream is limited to the Brits. b) You have to "like" their Facebook page to gain access elsewhere. c) Doing so in Canada opens up a link to Rdio. d) Rdio is a subscription based service that gives limited free trial time and asks for credit information. e) We've already heard 1/3 of it, and the other 2/3 isn't worth all that effort. So, that still leaves us with some good content, all of which is readily available.