Deftones - The White Pony
I just bought the Deftones new album Saturday Night Wrist last week so I thought as a warm up for that upcoming review I'd add a nice look at one of their earlier releases that, in my opinion, is there most finely tuned and beautiful release to date - White Pony.
For those that have never heard of the Deftones before here's a quick background on them. The band began its earliest and most immature formation in the late 1980s ('88 I think) in Sacramento, California. They weren't fully recognized or approached by any record labels until 1994 when they were signed to Maverick Records and began work on their first album shortly after. The Deftones have always had an odd relationship with both fans and critics, while somewhat lumped into the same '90s nu-metal movement as other bands like KoRn (who the Deftones often toured with), Limp Bizkit, and even (surprisingly) Slipknot they've always managed to set themselves apart from those other bands as being something totally on their own level. Since 1995 the Deftones have released six full length albums, the most recent one being Saturday Night Wrist released on October 31st 2006...
Without further a due here's my review of White Pony...
Title: White Pony
Artist: Deftones
Release Date: June 20th 2000
Record Label: Maverick Records
Distinctions: Debuted at No.3 on US Billboard Charts, achieved Platinum status, won a Grammy for the song "Elite", has sold over 1,274,364 copies as of January 2007
Track Listing:
1. Back to School (Mini Maggit)
2. Feiticeira
3. Digital Bath
4. Elite
5. RX Queen
6. Street Carp
7. Teenager
8. Knife Party
9. Korea
10. Passenger
11. Change (In the House of Flies)
12. Pink Maggit
White Pony was released in 2000 following their debut release Adrenaline in 1995 and their sophomore CD Around the Fur in 1997. Pony was unlike anything the Deftones had ever done in the past, and it was met with mixed feelings from fans. Those that didn't like it stated that the band had dropped its "nu-metal" status and "punk-rock" sound to take up a softer/weaker and more melodic tone.
They were right. The Deftones had taken a more melodic and softer route this time in putting out a third album, the result was an album that at times can sound like it's in the mist of a drunken rant, then a storm of passion and anger, and then a deeper/softer mood where Chino Moreno's vocals resonate perfectly with the slow drum beats and echoing bass lines.
The album opens with your relatively catchy tune - "Back to School" which is a more rap-rock (no, not the Linkin Park kind) sounding track that serves as a shorter, more cut down version of the closer track "Pink Maggit".
After "Back to School", Pony opens some new doors. "Feiticeira" has the makings of past Deftones songs but there's something different in how it all comes together - it catches your attention quickly and gets the point across that this is no usual Deftones sound.
Where the first mile-stone makes its appearance is on "Digital Bath". A soft, steady drum beat keeps pace with a bass line and atmospheric noises as Moreno tones it down a notch and resorts to singing poetic lyrics that get their point across yet leave plenty of room for your own personal interpretation. Every now and then, during the chorus, the song will break out with upbeat drums and electric guitar complementing Moreno's words "Tonight I feel like more..." that'll slowly fall back into the eerie yet beautiful calm that the song keeps for the majority of the time.
To severely contrast this Deftones-first the follow up track "Elite" suddenly rips through the silence at the end of Digital Bath with screaming and furious guitar and drum work. Most of the song is incomprehensible but it proves to be more enjoyable and catchy than any song of the same caliber off Adrenaline.
The next two songs: "RX Queen" and "Street Carp" mix this new found Deftones melody with upbeat sounds and almost nonsensical lyrics that actually appeal despite their oddness (for instance a line in "RX Queen" says: "I'll steal a carcass for you...'cuz you're my girl and that's alright.").
"Teenager" slows everything down again with a repeated acoustic guitar line and electronic bleeps and sounds in the background. Moreno resorts to even slower and quieter vocals that are almost half-whispered. When you really give this song a listen it truly does capture what the title is. This was also supposed to be a Team Sleep song.
"Knife Party" is an interesting song. Mixing fast alt-metal sound with vocals that are sung as if by someone half asleep and partly intoxicated, the track is quite good and is one of my favorites on the whole album. The song takes a break from talking about the sweetness of anemia halfway through to be taken over by a singing female who eventually falls into a sort of rage and begins yelling and such in the background as Moreno finishes up the song.
Most likely one of my least favorite tracks on the whole album, "Korea" sounds more like what the Deftones used to be. It may have served as a piece of familiar ground with fans at the time but it certainly doesn't fit in with the rest of the album.
Tool's Maynard James Keenan brings in his vocal support on "Passenger", a song that sounds most likely like the rantings of a drugged up or drunk taxi cab passenger not wanting to return home quite yet. The lyrics on this track are pure genius and the chorus always tends to give me chills.
Some may recall hearing this song from the film The Queen of the Damned, "Change (In the House of Flies)" is easily one of the most beautiful and furious tracks on the whole album (or even in their whole career). One second it's quiet and melodic and then it'll break out into a storm of drums, vocals, and guitar - then easily slip back into that creepy stillness. Although some say the song is based upon The Lord of the Flies I like to think it has deeper meaning than that.
Finally, the album closes with "Pink Maggit". Unlike it's shorter version at the beginning, "Pink Maggit" opens slowly with half whispered vocals and a electric guitar that echoes in and out until the song finally opens up into pretty much the same sound the first track has. Only this time around there's a more relieved and exhausted sound in Moreno's voice - a tone that sounds like he knows it's the end. Half way through the song picks up and then just as quickly as it started it ends with all instruments slowly fading out and enhancing a heart beat sound that continues until the final second is hit and the album draws to a final close....
Hands down the BEST Deftones album to date - if you only know the band by released like Adrenaline, Deftones, and Around the Fur then you're in for a total surprise when you hear this album for the first time. It's angry, it's beautiful, and it's revolutionary for the band and the genre. If there's a band that can truly master the art of mixing so many influences into a coherent and enjoyable album it's the Deftones - and the album to hear is White Pony.
I hope you all enjoyed my review and I REALLY hope if you haven't heard this album to at least give it a listen. Borrow it from a friend, buy it for real cheap online, pick it up at the store, whatever - just go listen to it.
If you'd rather find a way to listen to it or at least give it a quick browse for free here's the link to the Deftones main website:
http://www.deftones.com/6/index.html
Once there go to the "Albums" page from the selection of words up top, then choose "WhitePony" from the list at the bottom of the screen, and then simply click the little speaker button next to each of the songs. The sound quality isn't top notch but it does allow you to listen to every song on the album in its entirety...enjoy.
Originally Posted by VOP2288
