Knosis - GENKNOSIS (Album Review)

Knosis – GENKNOSIS 
Released: August 1, 2025

Lineup

Ryo Kinoshita // Vocals & Guitars
Yoshiya Morita // Co-writer & Producer

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I am about to say something I don’t think many of you will like – I have grown slightly tired of metalcore. I used to revel in the chugging riffs and slamming breakdowns, but somewhere along the way, every track melded into one cut-and-paste ball of tired predictability. Admittedly, this is what I expected before listening to the new Knosis record GENKNOSIS, but I was pleasantly mistaken. 

‍GENKNOSIS is anything but predictable. The Japanese metalcore project led by Ryo Kinoshita refuses to stick to a script, drawing on a plethora of genres that build a fast-paced and stimulating chaos. The album's sound is constantly switching directions. Once listeners grow comfortable, Knosis will veer off the path and screech into uncharted territory, immersing them in an experimental safari of noise. While this was performed in Ryo’s former project, Crystal Lake, it furthers the sound and provides a more in-depth exploration of metalcore.

The first and title-track ‘GENKNOSIS’ offers a blaring start to the record. A sharp and anticipating riff is broken by aggressive fry vocals and blastbeats before the sound cuts to the whispered lyrics: 

‘Know that you know nothing about me.’

This line alone sets the clear tone of unpredictability. With GENKNOSIS, listeners must expect the unexpected, which is only further proven by the following track.

In ‘SHINMON’ the project aggressively experiments with tempos and sounds, cutting from death metal speed to melodic vocals, to deathcore breakdowns and grunts, to electronic record scratches and breaks. It shifts rapidly but is woven together with a riff and lyrics that connect the track to its former. 

This breakcore-like structure is incredibly exciting to see in metal. While this genre has been recently harnessed in pop and electronic, with projects like Jane Remover’s ‘Revengeseekerz’ receiving critical acclimation, it has not quite taken flight within rock spaces. 

Breakcore’s experimentation with genres and sounds offers a brain-scratching quality that keeps audiences on their toes, but when complimented by blastbeats and confronting vocals, it is melded with anger and frustration – fostering this extreme wave of emotional catharsis and satisfaction. This is further exemplified in the ending of ‘SHIMON’, with a guttural finish that wraps the twisting track in a spine-chilling bow. 

The twisting sound is followed into the next offering with ‘FUHAI’, throwing listeners into a swirling cyclone of whispering bedlam. While still unpredictable and musically non-specific, it holds more of a nu-metal feel than others on the record. The swanky, Korn-like riffs sided by the cutesy female vocals (Yukina from hanabie.) create a springy melody that is as booty-shaking as it is moshable. The nu-metal inspiration is equally clear later in the record with ‘IMONI’ – carrying hip-hop rhythms and Slipknot riffs that build flow into hardcore territory. 

These songs are a perfect example on how to adhere to popular genres while maintaining a unique sound. In GENKNOSIS, Ryo draws on clear inspiration but refuses to let it define him. He wears influences on his sleeve with a certain pride that shifts the sounds into something rare and personal.

My only criticism of GENKNOSIS would be around the sixth tune, ‘KURUBI’. It is at this point that the record’s unpredictability becomes well…predictable. Ryo’s determination to avoid anything colour-by-numbers is something I highly respect and appreciate, however I think the constant avoidance of rhythm occasionally distracts from the flow of the album and causes it to overstay it’s welcome. 

Despite this minor critique, ‘KURUIBI’ is strong, sexy and driven, offering itself as a killer addition to any gym playlist. In fact, most of the record is an excellent soundtrack to pumping iron. ‘SEISAI’ is especially motivating, with pummelling drums, core-cutting distorted guitars and devilish vocals. This one sits on your shoulder like a demon crackbrained on pre workout – shrieking for you to smash out one more rep.

The project’s toughness divulges into something melodious and raw with closer, ‘ANGETSU’. It is slow, reflective and bittersweet. It is as if this track looks back on the album – observing the anger, the chaos and the determination with bittersweet acknowledgment. The lyrics in particular note a trapped mind and painful past.

‘I’m trapped in my head / This place is a mess / But one of these days I will leave this behind like I wished I did’

Ryo isn’t just reflecting on the anger of the record, but the anger of his childhood and how it has transformed him into the musician he is today. There is anguish and there is regret, but at the end of the tunnel is a glimmering hope that it will soon be left behind. 

As Knosis’s first full-length album, GENKNOSIS offers a fitting introduction to the artist. Know that you know nothing about Knosis, and that they will sweep you up in an unpredictable flurry of sound – proving there are still corners of metalcore to explore and experiment in. GENKNOSIS is a head-banging, electronically tinged display of ambitious musicianship, proving the genre can be as engaging as it is enraging. 

GENKNOSIS is out August 1 via SharpTone Records, Pre-save it here.

Review by Grace Cameron @gracicxo