In June 2000, Deftones revealed their third studio album, White Pony, via Maverick Records. Before this release, the band was widely seen as part of the dominant alternative metal movement of the late nineties, sharing the spotlight with acts like Korn, Limp Bizkit, and Slipknot among others. Their earlier records, Adrenaline (1995) and Around the Fur (1997), had already showcased their capabilities as a brilliant band but White Pony marked a turning point, blending ferocity with atmosphere and emotional depth in a way that elevated their sound to something distinctive.
Songs like Elite and Korea push hard against the edges of industrial metal, delivering a punishing intensity. At the same time, Deftones are just as comfortable drifting into atmospheric sounds. Digital Bath, a highlight of an album that's full of strong moments, wraps glistening guitar tones around a beat that flirts with trip-hop, while Chino Moreno’s vocals range from soft murmurs to explosive emotional release.
A big part of White Pony’s power comes from its fearless embrace of opposites. Chino Moreno’s lyrics swing between intimacy and abstraction. Tracks like Change (In the House of Flies) utilize poetic imagery into deeply emotional stories, blurring the line between the personal and the surreal. And then there’s Passenger, a standout duet with Maynard James Keenan of Tool who were also riding a wave of acclaim at the time. The song remains one of Deftones’ most memorable collaborations.
The album introduced rich textures through hip-hop inspired moments, ambient electronics, layers of beautiful guitar work, and understated sampling, without dialing down its heavy sound. The result felt weighty and fluid, shifting between hazy, shoegaze-like moods and fiery guitar assaults.
White Pony marked a natural change toward more introspective territory for Deftones. Chino Moreno has often reflected on the album as a product of creative exploration and indulgent experimentation. The title itself is street slang for cocaine, the narrative behind it goes far beyond that, including a sexual reference as explained by Moreno: "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 [that goes], 'Ride the white horse.' That's obviously a drug-reference song."
The record was a major success, earning the band a Grammy for Best Metal Performance with Elite and drawing acclaim for its artistic vision. More than just a critical hit, it reshaped the landscape of heavy music in the early 2000s, at a time when other bands leaned into predictable rap-metal swagger, yet Deftones delivered something far more nuanced and complex.
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Deftones
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