''White Pony'' is the third studio album by American
alternative metal
Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music
Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With r ...
band
Deftones
Deftones is an American alternative metal band formed in Sacramento, California in 1988. They were formed by Chino Moreno (vocals, guitar), Stephen Carpenter (guitar), Abe Cunningham (drums), and Dominic Garcia (bass). During their first five ...
, released on June 20, 2000, through
Maverick Records
Maverick was an American entertainment company founded in 1992 by Madonna, Frederick DeMann, and Veronica "Ronnie" Dashev, and formerly owned and operated by Warner Music Group. It included a record label (Maverick Records), a film production ...
. It was produced by
Terry Date
Terry Date (born January 31, 1956) is an American record producer and audio engineer specializing in rock genres, especially heavy metal. He is well known for his work with Metal Church, Dream Theater, Soundgarden, Overkill, Pantera, Dark Ange ...
, who produced the band's first two albums, ''
Adrenaline
Adrenaline, also known as epinephrine, is a hormone and medication which is involved in regulating visceral functions (e.g., respiration). It appears as a white microcrystalline granule. Adrenaline is normally produced by the adrenal glands and ...
'' (1995) and ''
Around the Fur
''Around the Fur'' is the second studio album by American alternative metal band Deftones, released on October 28, 1997, by Maverick Records. The songs "My Own Summer (Shove It)" and "Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)" were released as singles with ...
'' (1997). Recording sessions took place between August and December 1999 at
Larrabee Sound Studios
Larrabee Sound Studios is a recording studio complex in North Hollywood, California, originally established in 1969.
Facilities
Located at 4162 Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood, Larrabee has six studios, three tracking spaces, and a prod ...
in
West Hollywood
West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most ...
and
The Plant Recording Studios
The Record Plant is a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and currently operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it has produced highly influential albums, including Blond ...
in
Sausalito, California
Sausalito (Spanish language, Spanish for "small willow grove") is a city in Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States, located southeast of Marin City, California, Marin City, south-southeast of San Rafael, California ...
.
The album marked a significant growth in the band's sound, incorporating influences from
post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...
,
trip hop
Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with "downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop ...
,
shoegaze
Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volu ...
,
progressive rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
, and
post-rock
Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation with ...
into the
alternative metal
Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal) is a genre of heavy metal music
Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With r ...
sound which they had become known for.
''White Pony'' was also the first recording to feature
Frank Delgado as a full-time member of the band on
turntables
A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...
and
synthesizer
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
; Delgado had previously worked with the band as a featured guest on their first two albums, producing sound effects on some songs. It was also the first Deftones album which
Chino Moreno
Chino Moreno (born Camillo Wong Moreno, June 20, 1973) is an American musician who is best known as the lead vocalist, primary lyricist and contributing guitarist of the metal band Deftones. He is also a member of the side-project groups Team Sl ...
began to contribute rhythm guitar parts.
Upon its release and retrospectively, the album was met with critical acclaim, and is regarded by fans and critics alike as one of the band's most mature outings.
''White Pony'' is Deftones' highest-selling album to date, and it became their first
platinum record
Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
certified by the
RIAA
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
on July 17, 2002. The album includes two successful
singles
Singles are people not in a committed relationship.
Singles may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series
* ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe
* ''Singles'' ...
("
Change (In the House of Flies)
"Change (In the House of Flies)", often referred to as "Change", is a song by American alternative metal band Deftones, released as the first single from their third album, ''White Pony'', on May 16, 2000. It remains their most commercially succe ...
" and "
Back to School (Mini Maggit)"), the promotional single "
Digital Bath
"Digital Bath" is a song by the American alternative metal band Deftones from their third album, ''White Pony''. It was released as a promotional single. Belching Beaver released a limited edition beer named after the song in 2018.
Style
"Digita ...
", as well as the
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
-winning track for
Best Metal Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards to recording artists for works (songs or albums) containing quality performances in the heavy metal music genre. The Grammy Awards is an annual ceremony, where ...
, "
Elite
In political and sociological theory, the elite (french: élite, from la, eligere, to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. D ...
". The album received a 20th anniversary reissue, packaged with ''Black Stallion'', a companion remix album of ''White Pony'', in December 2020.
Background and recording
After a break from touring, the band spent four months in the studio writing and recording ''White Pony'' with producer
Terry Date
Terry Date (born January 31, 1956) is an American record producer and audio engineer specializing in rock genres, especially heavy metal. He is well known for his work with Metal Church, Dream Theater, Soundgarden, Overkill, Pantera, Dark Ange ...
, the longest amount of time they had dedicated to an album thus far.
Frontman
Chino Moreno
Chino Moreno (born Camillo Wong Moreno, June 20, 1973) is an American musician who is best known as the lead vocalist, primary lyricist and contributing guitarist of the metal band Deftones. He is also a member of the side-project groups Team Sl ...
explained that the majority of this time was spent trying to write songs, and that the writing of "Change (In the House of Flies)" was the turning point where the band began working as a unit.
Despite being pressured to release the album sooner, the band decided to take their time making the album. Bassist
Chi Cheng explained, "We didn't feel like we had anything to lose, so we made the record we wanted to make." Moreno did not have an overall lyrical theme in mind, but made a conscious decision to bring an element of fantasy into his lyrics, explaining, "I basically didn’t sing about myself on this record. I made up a lot of story lines and some dialogue, even. I took myself completely out of it and wrote about other things. Once I did that I was able to sing about anything I wanted to, I could be a lot more general. There’s a lot of stuff on this record that people are going to question me about, and I can just remove myself from it. It’s not me. I’m writing a story here."
Although the band initially did not intend to include guest musicians on the album,
it features additional vocals by
Maynard James Keenan
Maynard James Keenan (born James Herbert Keenan; April 17, 1964) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and winemaker. He is best known as the singer and primary lyricist of the rock bands Tool, A Perfect Circle, and Pusci ...
(
Tool
A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...
,
A Perfect Circle
A Perfect Circle is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1999 by guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan. A Perfect Circle has released four studio albums, the first three during the early 2000s: ' ...
) on "Passenger" and
Rodleen Getsic
''The Bunny Game'' is a 2010 American low-budget avant-garde horror film co-created and co-written by Rodleen Getsic (who also stars in the film) and Adam Rehmeier. Set in the desert, the film is about a prostitute who is abducted by a truck dr ...
(simply credited as Rodleen) on "Knife Prty".
"Rx Queen" also features vocal contributions from
Stone Temple Pilots
Stone Temple Pilots (also known by the initialism STP) is an American rock band from San Diego, California, that originally consisted of Scott Weiland (lead vocals), brothers Dean (guitar) and Robert DeLeo (bass, backing vocals), and Eric Kretz ...
frontman
Scott Weiland
Scott Richard Weiland (; né Kline, October 27, 1967 – December 3, 2015) was an American singer and songwriter. During a career spanning three decades, Weiland was best known as the lead singer of the rock band Stone Temple Pilots from 1 ...
, though he is uncredited. Weiland brought Moreno to his studio for collaboration, where he would sing along and suggest vocal harmonies; the result was left in the final version of the song, and credit for Weiland's part was never discussed by either party.
Composition
![Faith No More 2009](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Faith_No_More_2009.jpg)
Stylistically, ''White Pony'' combines the band's standard alternative metal sound, influenced by bands such as
Tool
A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...
,
Faith No More
Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before settling on the current name in July 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/r ...
and
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...
, with the layered atmospherics of
The Cure
The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith has re ...
, specifically their ''
Pornography
Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults, '' era. It has also been categorized as an
art rock
Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an art ...
and
nu metal
Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu met ...
album, though several critics also acknowledge that the record moved beyond the latter label.
''
Metal Hammer
''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...
'' likened the album to a metal version of
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...
's critically acclaimed ''
OK Computer
''OK Computer'' is the third studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released in Japan on 21 May 1997 and in the UK on 16 June 1997. Radiohead self-produced the album with Nigel Godrich, an arrangement they have used for their subsequ ...
'' (1997).
The original opener for the album, "Feiticeira," lacks conventional song structure and builds over a background of guitars and bass.
Moreno discussed the lyrics to the song: "The name Feiticeira is some
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
name that I read in a magazine and just liked. It's based on the scenario of being taken captive. It's completely fictional. I want that people who listen to it feel like they are the ones in the situation. Because of that I sing it in first person. It's up to people to figure out if i'm having fun (with them) or not, even though it sounds a bit eerie". "Digital Bath" features a
trip hop
Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with "downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop ...
drum beat with Moreno's vocals over heavy two-guitar trade-offs and a more atmospheric texture from Delgado.
"Elite" is more straightforward and heavy and lacks typical Deftones dynamics, containing
industrial rock
Industrial rock is a fusion genre that fuses industrial music and rock music. It initially originated in the 1970s, and drew influence from early experimental and industrial acts such as Cromagnon, Throbbing Gristle, Einstürzende Neubauten a ...
influences.
Moreno said that the song "is laughing at everybody trying to become what they already are. If you want to be one of the elite, you are". "Rx Queen"' contains heavy percussive effects and stuttering bass.
Moreno considers it "the most futuristic song in the album".
On "Street Carp", after a brief guitar introduction, the band crashes in with full force.
Moreno said: "It's a classic Deftones song, with a rolling riff and some really interesting chords in the chorus. the vocals are kinda crazy - I'm singing out loud over the top of the music, like (
The Smiths
The Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. They comprised the singer Morrissey, the guitarist Johnny Marr, the bassist Andy Rourke and the drummer Mike Joyce. They are regarded as one of the most important acts to emerg ...
front man)
Morrissey
Steven Patrick Morrissey (; born 22 May 1959), known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then ...
or something, a cool contrast".
Although the song was not released as a single, a promo video was made for it. "Teenager" consists of an acoustic riff and a "
scratching
Scratching, sometimes referred to as scrubbing, is a DJ and turntablist technique of moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable to produce percussive or rhythmic sounds. A crossfader on a DJ mixer may be used to fade between two record ...
" line with a trip-hop beat and
glitch
A glitch is a short-lived fault in a system, such as a transient fault that corrects itself, making it difficult to troubleshoot. The term is particularly common in the computing and electronics industries, in circuit bending, as well as among ...
influences. The song deals with a youthful romance coming to an end.
Moreno stated that he wrote the lyrics when he was 15 after a first date and that it was originally a
Team Sleep
Team Sleep is an American experimental alternative rock/post-rock group led by singer/guitarist Chino Moreno. Moreno is better known for fronting the Sacramento-based alternative metal band Deftones. Other current members include guitarist Todd ...
song.
The opening chords for "Knife Prty" lead into a distorted introduction with a moving bass line and a vocal bridge sung by Getsic in
Spanish-Arabic style.
Chino said, "It's a seductive song with a lot of violent imagery. People don't tend to like sex mixed with violence. The mid section has amazing vocals from a girl called Rodleen who worked next door to our studio".
In a review of the album,
iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
notes that: "
Jeff Buckley
Jeffrey Scott Buckley (November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997), raised as Scott Moorhead, was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, Buckley amassed a following in the early 1990s by ...
would have been thrilled at how 'Knife Party' expands the hard-rock notions of his ''
Grace
Grace may refer to:
Places United States
* Grace, Idaho, a city
* Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois
* Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office
* Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninco ...
'' — the track’s bridge finds singer Chino Moreno pulling off a worthy tribute to Buckley’s falsetto."
[ An atmospheric song with a bleak guitar line and a bridge featuring a scratch solo by Delgado, "Korea" is considered one of the album's highlights.] "Passenger" features a guitar intro and vocal interplay between Keenan and Moreno alongside piano and keyboard lines, leading to heavy guitar that introduces the choruses.
"Change (In the House of Flies)" was the album's lead single, and became a radio hit. Moreno compared it to earlier single "Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)
"Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)" is the second single released from the American alternative metal band Deftones' second album, ''Around the Fur''. It was their first single to chart on the US charts, peaking at number 29 on the Mainstream Rock Tra ...
", considering it "a beautiful metamorphosis". The closer, "Pink Maggit" is a bleak and moody song with a whispered melody from Moreno, concluding with a final explosion. Moreno described the song: "The title comes from a Kool Keith
Keith Matthew Thornton (born October 7, 1963), better known by his stage name Kool Keith, is an American rapper and record producer from The Bronx, New York City, known for his surreal, abstract and often profane or incomprehensible lyrics. Kool ...
song ("No Chorus" from ''First Come, First Served
Queueing theory is the mathematical study of waiting lines, or queues. A queueing model is constructed so that queue lengths and waiting time can be predicted. Queueing theory is generally considered a branch of operations research because the ...
''). We just thought it was some funny stuff. The song is meant to be triumphant. I'm trying to spread a little confidence. Lots of artists try to make songs for the kids who are tormented in school, telling them it's okay to be tormented. But it's not okay. Don't be ridiculed. Become the leader of your surroundings. Confidence is one of the most important things in life. If you are confident, you can do whatever you want".
“Pink Maggit” is known for being the album’s and the band’s longest song to date (excluding “MX” on Around the Fur
''Around the Fur'' is the second studio album by American alternative metal band Deftones, released on October 28, 1997, by Maverick Records. The songs "My Own Summer (Shove It)" and "Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)" were released as singles with ...
, which is 37 minutes due to over 20 minutes of silence), clocking in at 7:32.
Leading off the reissued version of the album, "Back to School (Mini Maggit)" is a reinterpretation of the album's closer with additional rap
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
or hip hop influences. Moreno later declared that he regretted the creation of the song and its placement on the album. "The Boy's Republic" is a song exclusive to the limited-edition releases of the album, with lyrics about someone desperately seeking redemption, and comes after "Pink Maggit," making it the final track on the limited edition.
Album title
"White pony" is street slang for cocaine
Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
. However, there are other meanings for the album name, including a sexual
Sex is the biological distinction of an organism between male and female.
Sex or SEX may also refer to:
Biology and behaviour
*Animal sexual behaviour
**Copulation (zoology)
**Human sexual activity
**Non-penetrative sex, or sexual outercourse
** ...
reference, as explained by Moreno:
:"There's a lot of different references for ''White Pony''. One of them is a cocaine reference and there's a lot of stuff... have you ever heard stuff like in dream books that if you dream about a white pony, then you're having a sexual dream? There's a lot of stuff that kinda goes around it. And there's an old song hat goes ' Ride the white horse.' That's obviously a drug-reference song."
Release
Five different editions of the album exist. On its release date, limited-edition numbered copies were released with solid red and black jewel case
Optical disc packaging is the packaging that accompanies CDs, DVDs, and other formats of optical discs. Most packaging is rigid or semi-rigid and designed to protect the media from scratches and other types of exposure damage.
Jewel case
A ...
s. The two differently colored cases also featured different booklet inserts. Both limited-edition versions included "The Boy's Republic" but not "Back to School (Mini Maggit)."
The edition with a gray cover was released as the initial non-limited version of the album and did not include "The Boy's Republic". This, along with the red and black versions, were the properly sequenced version of the album as the band intended. The gray version was later superseded by the current white version, which added "Back to School (Mini Maggit)" as the first track. This was only added as a marketing strategy, a decision that Moreno stated that he was unhappy with. The original release was also pressed on clear red vinyl for a promotional run of about 1,000 copies.
In honor of the album's 20th anniversary, Deftones re-released ''White Pony'' on December 11, 2020 packaged with ''Black Stallion'', a bonus remix album. ''Black Stallion'' features the full track list of the original ''White Pony'' album in order with each song recreated by a different producer with an "electronic, beat-driven" approach. Deftones originally conceived of doing a remix album prior to the recording of ''White Pony'' and had reached out to DJ Shadow
Joshua Paul Davis (born June 29, 1972), better known by his stage name DJ Shadow, is an American DJ, songwriter and record producer. His debut studio album, '' Endtroducing.....'' was released in 1996.
Biography Early years (1989–1995)
DJ Sha ...
to remix the entire album himself. ''Black Stallion'' includes remixes from DJ Shadow, Clams Casino, Robert Smith, Mike Shinoda
Michael Kenji Shinoda (; ja, 篠田 賢治, Shinoda Kenji; born February 11, 1977) is an American musician, singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer. He co-founded the rock band Linkin Park in 1996 and was the band's collaborative vocali ...
and more; and was promoted with a music video for Purity Ring
Purity rings (also known as promise rings, abstinence rings, or chastity rings) are rings worn as a sign of chastity. Since the 1990s, in the United States, Christian organizations, especially Catholic and evangelical Christian groups, promoting ...
's remix of "Knife Prty".
Reception
''White Pony'' was well received by critics, garnering an aggregate rating of 72 on Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
. Several reviewers praised Moreno's increasing lyrical sophistication and the group's sonic experimentation.
''Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, though it cautioned that "the band's continuous inclination toward a bludgeoning experimental sonic attack and Moreno's violent, impressionistic lyrics made the album a tough pill to swallow for most listeners". Similarly, BBC Music
BBC Music is responsible for the music played across the BBC. The current director of music is Bob Shennan, who is also the controller of BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music, and the BBC Asian Network.
Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio o ...
praised the album while opining: " he factthat such a progressive, risk-taking LP wasn't celebrated across the board for its gutsy reinventing of a band thought pigeonholed wasn't that surprising, though – this is a difficult album." In a favorable review, ''Alternative Press
Alternative press may refer to:
Individual publications
* ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine
Alternative journalism
* Alternative media
** Alternative media (U.S. political left)
** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...
'' noted the album’s "art-rock
Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an art ...
explorations." Publications such as ''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' and '' Q'' were somewhat less enthusiastic. The former lamented that the album was overproduced to sound too much like their influencers, while the latter wondered if ''White Pony'' was "their most adventurous and assured album to date?".
In 2016, Jonathan Dick of NPR Music
NPR Music is a project of National Public Radio, an American privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization, that launched in November 2007 to present public radio music programming and original editorial content for music ...
retrospectively praised the album as a watershed moment or turning point, not only in regards to the Deftones' sound but also, more generally, to heavy and experimental music
Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...
in the new millennium, describing the album as signaling "not only a change for the band but a new trajectory for heavy and experimental music entering the 21st century". Dick especially noted the album's "shift into the heavy post-rock
Post-rock is a form of experimental rock characterized by a focus on exploring textures and timbre over traditional rock song structures, chords, or riffs. Post-rock artists are often instrumental, typically combining rock instrumentation with ...
, shoegaze
Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volu ...
spectrum" and contended that, within the span of five years from the band's debut album to the release of ''White Pony'', Deftones had distinguished itself as a band "whose sound no longer fit too comfortably under any genre-specific title". Similarly, Mike Diver of ''Clash magazine
''Clash'' is a music and fashion magazine and website based in the United Kingdom. It is published four times a year by Music Republic Ltd, whose predecessor Clash Music Ltd went into liquidation.
The magazine won the Best New Magazine award in ...
'' asserted that ''White Pony'' "changed everything – not just for Deftones, but metal
A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...
as a whole", noting the album's "distinct air of progressive rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
" and its ability to weave electronics into aggressive yet reflective songs. ''Pitchfork
A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...
'' retrospectively noted that ''White Pony'' "transcended the dubious genre f nu-metalby fashioning a truly new form from post-hardcore
Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has been ...
, industrial
Industrial may refer to:
Industry
* Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry
* Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems
* Industrial city, a city dominate ...
, trip-hop
Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with "downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic fusion of hip hop and electronica with slow tempos ...
, shoegaze
Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volu ...
, ambient electronics, and synth-pop
Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...
."[
]
Accolades
''Alternative Press
Alternative press may refer to:
Individual publications
* ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine
Alternative journalism
* Alternative media
** Alternative media (U.S. political left)
** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...
'' ranked ''White Pony'' as the second best album of 2000, and in their September 2010 issue, placed it in their list of the "Top 10 Most Influential Albums of 2000". UK rock magazine ''Kerrang!
''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...
'' named ''White Pony'' their third best album of the year behind Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age (commonly abbreviated QOTSA) is an American rock band formed in 1996 in Palm Desert, California. The band was founded by vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme, who has been the only constant member throughout multiple line- ...
's ''Rated R Rated R refers to movies (and also to TV shows and video games in certain systems) that have been given a "restricted" rating by one of the following film rating systems:
* Motion Picture Association of America film rating system
* Canadian Home Vid ...
'' and At the Drive-In
At the Drive-In was an American post-hardcore band from El Paso, Texas, formed in 1994. The band's most recent line-up consisted of Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals), Omar Rodríguez-López (guitar, vocals), Paul Hinojos (bass), Tony Hajjar (dru ...
's ''Relationship of Command
''Relationship of Command'' is the third studio album by American post-hardcore band At the Drive-In, released on September 12, 2000. The album combines an aggressive edge with a melodic drive, harmonious, emotive vocals, and surreal lyrics. Whil ...
''. In 2011, Complex
Complex commonly refers to:
* Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe
** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...
Media Network's music website, Consequence of Sound
''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook ...
, honored ''White Pony'' on a "List 'Em Carefully" installment dedicated to writer David Buchanan's top 13 metal records released between 2000 and 2010, noting that Deftones was one of several acts who "helped usher the popularity of complex structure meets MTV audience". In 2017, ''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' ranked ''White Pony'' as 66th on their list of 'The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time.' In 2019, ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' ranked it 29th on their list of 'The 100 best albums of the 21st century'. In 2020, it was named one of the 20 best metal albums of 2000 by ''Metal Hammer
''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...
'' magazine.
The album's third track, "Elite", won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 2001. Deftones drummer Abe Cunningham
Abraham Benjamin Cunningham (born July 27, 1973) is an American musician, best known as the drummer of the alternative metal band Deftones.
Life and career
Abe Cunningham was born in Long Beach, California. When he was young, his family moved ...
commented on the awards night: "All the people were on the ground, on the floor, and we were up sort of in the balcony, we were like, 'We're not gonna win. Look where we're sitting.' Everybody else who was winning, they'd get up there quick and get back. So we were just watching it and the whole thing was rad, just seeing the (stuff) go down. And all of a sudden they called our name. We just jumped over this balcony down onto the floor and ran up there. It was pretty cool, man".
The album won the 2000 Kerrang!
''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...
Award for Album of the Year.
At the 2001 California Music Awards, it won Outstanding Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album.
Track listing
* Note: "Knife Prty" (track 7, or 8 on the reissue) is spelled "Knife Party" on most of the European versions of the album and contains backing vocals by Rodleen Getsic.
Personnel
Personnel adapted from album liner notes, unless otherwise noted.
Deftones
* Chino Moreno
Chino Moreno (born Camillo Wong Moreno, June 20, 1973) is an American musician who is best known as the lead vocalist, primary lyricist and contributing guitarist of the metal band Deftones. He is also a member of the side-project groups Team Sl ...
– vocals, rhythm guitar
* Stephen Carpenter
Stephen "Steph" Carpenter ( /ˈstɛfən/ ''STEF-ən''; born August 3, 1970) is an American musician, known as the co-founder and a guitarist of the alternative metal band Deftones.
His guitar technique makes use of both ringing open strings an ...
– lead guitar
* Chi Cheng – bass, backing vocals
* Frank Delgado – keyboards, turntables
* Abe Cunningham
Abraham Benjamin Cunningham (born July 27, 1973) is an American musician, best known as the drummer of the alternative metal band Deftones.
Life and career
Abe Cunningham was born in Long Beach, California. When he was young, his family moved ...
– drums
Additional musicians
* Rodleen Getsic
''The Bunny Game'' is a 2010 American low-budget avant-garde horror film co-created and co-written by Rodleen Getsic (who also stars in the film) and Adam Rehmeier. Set in the desert, the film is about a prostitute who is abducted by a truck dr ...
– additional vocals (on "Knife Prty")
* Maynard James Keenan
Maynard James Keenan (born James Herbert Keenan; April 17, 1964) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and winemaker. He is best known as the singer and primary lyricist of the rock bands Tool, A Perfect Circle, and Pusci ...
– lead vocals (on "Passenger")
* Scott Weiland
Scott Richard Weiland (; né Kline, October 27, 1967 – December 3, 2015) was an American singer and songwriter. During a career spanning three decades, Weiland was best known as the lead singer of the rock band Stone Temple Pilots from 1 ...
– additional vocals (on "Rx Queen"; uncredited)
Other personnel
* Frank Maddocks – art direction, album design
* James Minchin III – photography
Technical personnel
* Kim Biggs – creative director
* CrookOne – drum programming
* Robert Daniels – assistant engineer
* Terry Date
Terry Date (born January 31, 1956) is an American record producer and audio engineer specializing in rock genres, especially heavy metal. He is well known for his work with Metal Church, Dream Theater, Soundgarden, Overkill, Pantera, Dark Ange ...
– production, mixing
* Michelle Forbes – assistant engineer
* Scott Olson
Scott Olson is an American guitarist, bassist, music producer and recording engineer. He played guitar with Heart between 1995–1998 and 2002–2003, and in 1996 he performed with Alice In Chains on their ''MTV Unplugged'' concert. Olson was ...
– Pro Tools
Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture (sound design, audio post-productio ...
engineer, additional engineering
* Ted Regier – assistant engineer
* Jason Schweitzer – assistant engineer
* Howie Weinberg
Howie Weinberg is an American audio mastering engineer with over 2,257 mastering credits, three TEC Awards, 21 Grammy Awards, two Juno Awards, and one Mercury Prize.
Career
Weinberg mastered Herbie Hancock's 1983 album ''Future Shock''. Other m ...
– mastering
* Ulrich Wild
Ulrich Wild is an American record producer, engineer and mixer specializing in the rock and metal genres. Born and raised in Switzerland, Ulrich is now a naturalized citizen in the United States, living in Los Angeles, California. In a career th ...
– additional engineering
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Singles
Certifications
References
External links
In-depth article on ''White Pony''
{{Authority control
Deftones albums
2000 albums
Maverick Records albums
Albums produced by Terry Date
Nu metal albums by American artists