ALBUM REVIEW: Genknosis – Knosis
Ryo Kinoshita’s latest project, KNOSIS, encompasses all. During their debut record, the gravitational pull of complex emotions, intense catharsis, and enraged outbursts has been compacted to form the beginnings of a brilliant shining star; one that guides him through the darkness, but also sets the path for the direction of the future of Japanese, if not global, metalcore. In Genknosis, we see Kinoshita’s world with a deep understanding of introspection and with the greatest attention to detail.
Genknosis is a statement in itself. After leaving metalcore titans CRYSTAL LAKE in 2022, for Kinoshita this album has a lot to prove. The record furthers a landmark turn in the creation of a Japanese maximalist sound, which throws everything – including the kitchen sink – into a tidal wave of experimentation, electronica and sampling. Here, there is no formulaic path; everything is fast-paced and in-your-face, in a similar way to how BRING ME THE HORIZON infused hyper-pop into their later records. Anything sonically is possible.
In the J-pop circles, bands like CREEPY NUTS have begun to synthesise this sound for anime openings, but the rise of PALEDUSK, especially with the release of their album Palehell in 2024, fully realised the capabilities of this movement within the alternative scene. It is KNOSIS that has masterfully perfected this sound with a heavy payoff, and arguably the first to take this genre as a way to communicate the depth of their sound with complete seriousness, away from campy archetypes and instead on unpacking intense personal trauma, providing a completely introspective approach to this new method of production.
Combining the fast-paced abrasiveness of metallic heaviness, closely affiliated with hardcore, the record is gritty and entrenched in glitchy electronic chaos. Genknosis’ power lies in the records changing and evolving nature, which is both overwhelming and wonderfully sensual. In its soaring DEFTONES-esque choruses in Kurubi to our crushing introduction to the record in Shinmon, the contrast makes every moment of the album count, with Kinoshita’s utmost care and attention put into the record.
This does not mean that Genknosis is a wall of sound; in places, the album becomes a gnarly display of modern metalcore in its purest form, stripping back the entire production instantly. Submerged in the middle of heavy shoegazey choruses that linger and provide reflection in Dokunuma, its approach has gained tenderness akin to MAGNOLIA PARK or even HOLDING ABSENCE. Tapping into the broad spectrum of the global metallic scene, it feels so plugged in to the contemporary. A constellation of influences helps Kinoshita navigate his world and his place within it.
In Genknosis, which describes the act of emptying, Kinoshita has produced a record truly remarkable. As a religious term, associated with Jesus’ submission to God, giving up desires and rendering himself human, Kinoshita’s work can be interpreted in a multitude of ways, mostly about his relationship with creation and servitude (in the most basic reading, the artist’s struggle and its audience). With some seemingly grandiose conversations about religion at the core of Kinoshita’s lyricism, the record could potentially feel overambitious, but there is a unique mastery in how KNOSIS creates, which justifies its potential, a delicious reintroduction.
In a lot of ways, this work feels satisfyingly indulgent. The project fills its lungs with unmistakable humanity; complex, compassionate and introspective, with unwavering outbursts of rage and defiance. In other ways, Genknosis is a record giving us everything, including its imperfections, which makes this record one of the most exciting to come out in 2025. Above it all, the record is a sun-swallowing behemoth, which makes its presence known in the alternative metal community.
Rating: 8/10
Genknosis is out now via SharpTone Records.
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