More about: Deftones

Today (20 June) marks the 20th anniversary of one of the most pivotal albums to emerge since the turn of the millennium. 

It's the year 2000. Korn and Limp Bizkit ruled the airwaves, Y2K is inducing hysteria - and Deftones are in the midst of an evolution. At the turn of the century, Sacramento’s finest released the seminal, drug-induced, 11-track tour de force White Pony – an album that saw them sever all ties with the bloated nu-metal scene they had been associated with since the release of their debut album Adrenaline. 

Whilst the comparisons were largely unfounded, it’s fair to say that Adrenaline did feature some elements of rap-metal, with vocalist Chino Moreno spitting verses over a metallic backdrop courtesy of guitarist Stephen Carpenter, late bassist Chi Cheng and drummer Abe Cunningham. Yet, Deftones’ sound contained a level of depth and dynamism that was unrivalled, most notably on the soaring ‘Birthmark’ and bittersweet closer ‘Fireal’. 

The now-classic follow up Around the Fur pushed the envelope even further and thrust Deftones into the alternative spotlight thanks to huge singles ‘My Own Summer (Shove it)’ and ‘Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)’. The album exemplified how the band had transformed its sound, with Chino’s new wave influences coming to the fore on the anguished ‘Mascara’ and ‘Dai The Flu’. However, the exposure to the mainstream that followed meant that they were unfairly stuck with the nu-metal tag more than ever before. 

Deftones entered the studio in April 1999 with a point to prove. 

Chino joined Steph on guitar duties for the first time in sessions following Around The Fur, resulting in an infamously fractious working relationship that yielded some of the most ambitious material on White Pony. Frank Delgado, who had featured sparingly on prior releases, was officially announced as a member and was given free rein to layer his now trademark atmospherics onto tracks. The end result was an album that reinvented and redefined, as the band fused elements of dream pop, post-rock and shoegaze to create their magnum opus. 

Deftones held a virtual press conference to discuss the album’s 20th anniversary, and we learned a lot. “When we made the record we pretty much did whatever we wanted […] We took chances and we’d try things and see if they’d stick - and a lot of it did” Chino explains. This progression can be heard as soon as opener ‘Feiticeira’ bursts into life, with Chino finding himself at the centre of a grizzly kidnapping. Bound and gagged, the frontman confesses that he is his abductor’s “new cool meat” amid clattering drums and rising guitars in what proves to be the perfect introduction to White Pony’s seedy underbelly. 

Regarding the ambiguous imagery present on the album, the singer says: “[It was] a little liberating to be able to write stuff that’s not necessarily attached to personal life.” As Chino puts it, “We wanted to get weird […] and just see how far we could take it”. The ethereal ‘Digital Bath’ then follows, complete with Abe’s unmistakable backbeat that cuts through Frank’s misty samples. The tracks sensual verses are offset by Chino lurching into one of his most iconic refrains - “Tonight I feel like more”. The vocalist said the song “came together in a very special way - its dynamic, it’s sort of lush in a way, but the content of the song itself is a little eerie”, referring to its underlying lyrical theme of electrocuting a girl in a bathtub.  

‘Digital Bath’s seductive state is blown to bits by the poleaxing ‘Elite’, which grabs you by the throat and throws you to the floor. Arguably the most ferocious track on the album, Chino addresses narcissism and vanity as he screeches “You like attention/It proves to you you’re alive” alongside Steph’s bludgeoning riffs. The song also went on to win Deftones the GRAMMY for Best Metal Performance in 2001. Abe remembers the ceremony fondly: “Everybody that was winning [was seated below], on the floor. So we’re like, ‘Oh, you know, there’s no way we’re going to win. We’re just happy to be here. This is great’ And then they called our name and we were like, ‘What the fuck?!’ […] it took so long to get up there that by the time we did, they’re like, ‘Okay, cut it, you’re done!’ It was pretty surreal.”

Crunching guitars intertwine with glitchy percussive effects on ‘RX Queen’, as Chino reveals his reluctance to leave a particularly toxic relationship “’Cause you’re my girl and that’s alright/If you sting me I won’t mind’. He rebuffs the advances of a promiscuous woman on ‘Street Carp’ before ‘Teenager’s’ trip-hop inspired beat brings proceedings to a hazy halt. Here, White Pony takes a sombre turn as the frontman recounts his first real taste of heartbreak.

Pink Floyd collides with Helmet on the bloodlust of ‘Knife Prty’, with Chi’s mutating baseline guiding the track for its duration, delicately floating above Abe’s pummelling drums. During the songs climax, guest vocalist Rodleen Getsic’s frantic screams perfectly juxtapose Chino’s sedate croon in a moment that captures White Pony at its most frenzied. In its din, the drug fuelled ‘Korea’ blasts into view, complete with the singer embarking on a trip of pure hedonism to see “white skin on red leather” in one of his favourite night spots.

The comedown from the night before follows in the form of ‘Passenger’, with Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan joining Chino for a six-minute joyride. “Passenger was one of the last songs we did. I still hadn’t had any ideas for it yet […] and [Maynard] came by the studio. We sort of just sat there and listened to it and wrote it line by line” says Chino. Themes of BDSM and exhibitionism are alluded to in the tracks verses, as Keenan whispers about the “buttons, buckles and leather surfaces” used in the presence of “other lucky witnesses”. “I kind of felt like [Maynard] was involved early on in the record just by being around”, adds Chino, “For me as a singer to trade lines like that with somebody with his voice was super special”. 

‘Passenger’ slowly builds to a crushing crescendo before retreating to allow for ‘Change (In the House of Flies)’ to take centre stage. “[It was] the first time I [heard] the way I wanted us to sound” says Abe, with its desolate opening verse paving the way for a towering chorus, demonstrating how Deftones had fully honed their loud/quiet dynamic. “[Change has] a lot of elements of what Deftones have always tried to achieve” says Chino, “It’s probably one of my favourite songs of ours, even though I know it’s probably the most popular song - I think there’s a reason for it.” 

The slow burning ‘Pink Maggit’ then White Pony to a brooding close - an emotional bookend to an album that stood as a defiant middle finger thrown in the face of a scene that was toppling under the weight of its own ebbing popularity. In 2000, Chino explained that the song was based on the idea of “[Becoming] the leader of your surroundings” - and that’s exactly what Deftones did with this release. 

Despite Maverick Records coaxing the band into recording a rap-rock infused version of ‘Pink Maggit’ in the form of ‘Back to School (Mini Maggit)’, White Pony’s sonic statement of intent could not be undermined. Deftones had drawn from their eclectic pool of influences to form an album that transcended their contemporaries and placed them in a league of their own. “It was five guys just taking chances and believing in themselves” says Frank, “blazing their own little trail”.

The record remains an iconic snapshot of the band at the peak of its powers, resulting in a legacy that will stretch far beyond its 20th anniversary. “I believe that the chances that we took making [White Pony] and just trusting ourselves […] is why we’re still able to do what we do today” says Abe. The band continue to mature and develop their sound with each subsequent release, remaining one of the most original, innovate and vital acts in modern day music. 

In their virtual conference, Chino adds a final note on the ever-present question - will there be a reissue? “We’re going to be releasing, later in the year, a reissue of the record and we’re going to do a sort of flip side to the record as well – a remixed version of it entitled ‘Black Stallion’”. “A lot of people are on it, some that inspired the writing on the original record itself. We had that idea pretty much 20 years ago, even before we started writing White Pony […] It’s something we always kinda joked about, and now it’s actually come to life”. It has been confirmed that DJ Shadow will be one of the artists to appear on the project. 

With this, as well as their ninth studio album on the horizon, Deftones’ fascinating ascent from Californian skaters to alternative godfathers shows no sign of slowing.

We’ll be riding the White Pony for years to come.

More about: Deftones