| White Pony | ||||
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| Studio album by Deftones | ||||
| Released | June 20, 2000 | |||
| Recorded | August — December 1999 at The Plant Studios in Sausalito, California | |||
| Genre | Alternative metal, experimental rock[1] | |||
| Length | 48:57 | |||
| Label | Maverick (9362-47667-2) |
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| Producer | Terry Date and Deftones | |||
| Deftones chronology | ||||
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| Alternative covers | ||||
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Re-release cover
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Limited edition cover
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Limited edition cover
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| Singles from White Pony | ||||
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White Pony is the third studio album by American alternative metal band Deftones. Released in 2000, it marks a significant growth in the band's sound, incorporating New Wave and shoegaze influences with the alternative metal edge the group had become known for. To this end, it is generally regarded by fans and critics alike as their most mature outing and is also their highest-selling album to date.
The album features three successful singles as well as the 2001 Grammy Award-winning track for Best Metal Performance, "Elite."
Contents |
After a break from touring, the band spent four months in the studio writing and recording White Pony, the longest amount of time they had dedicated to an album thus far. Moreno 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 group.
Despite being pressured to release the album sooner, the band decided to take their time making the album. Cheng explained that "We didn't feel like we had anything to lose, so we made the record we wanted to make." Moreno did not have a common theme in mind lyrically, but made a conscious decision to bring an element of fantasy into his lyrics, explaining that "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."[2][3]
The album features guest vocals by Maynard James Keenan on "Passenger", Scott Weiland on "Rx Queen", and Rodleen Getsic on "Knife Party".
White Pony is street slang for cocaine. However, there are more likely meanings for the album name, including an obvious sexual reference:
The original gray cover for White Pony is rumored to have been inspired by the album cover for the Hum album, You'd Prefer an Astronaut., of which Chino stated in an interview "...it's where Deftones get a big part of our influence from, tone-wise." and "Deftones were definitely influenced by it."[6] The art mimics the mostly empty one color cover, with Hum's zebra in the lower left corner being replaced by a stallion in the lower right of the Deftones album.
Four different editions of the album exist. On its release date, limited edition copies were released with solid red and black jewel cases. The two differently-colored cases also featured different booklet inserts. Both limited edition versions include "The Boy's Republic" but do not include "Back to School (Mini Maggit)."
The first edition with a gray cover was supposed to be released as the non-limited version of the album. In addition, this version did not feature the track "Back to School (Mini Maggit)." This is the proper version of the album (which was also pressed on clear red vinyl for a promotional run of about 1000 copies), and "Back to School" was only added as a marketing strategy; vocalist and contributing guitarist Chino Moreno has stated that he was not happy about it.[7]
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [8] |
| Rolling Stone | [9] |
| Spin magazine | (8.0/10)[10] |
| Sputnikmusic | [11] |
| Checkout.com | (9.0/10)[10] |
| Sonicnet | [10] |
| BBC Music | (Favourable)[12] |
| Q magazine | [10] |
| Billboard | [10] |
| Select magazine | (Unfavourable)[10] |
White Pony was well received by critics, garnering an aggregate rating of 72 on Metacritic.[13] Several reviewers praised Moreno's increasing lyrical sophistication and the group's sonic experimentation.[14] With Spin magazine stating: Far and away Deftones' most daring and impassioned work to date.
Other positive review came from Checkout.com concluding that White Pony is "A complex, heavily textured album that aims for the stars" Billboard gave it four out of five stars, but stated that the band's continious inclination toward a bludgeoning experimental sonic attack and Moreno's violent, impressionistic lyrics makes the album a tough pill to swallow for most listeners. Publications such Rolling Stone and Q magazine where less enthusiastic, with the last wondering if White Pony is "Their most adventurous and assured album to date?". A rather unfavourable review came from Select magazine, saying that "Maybe when they abandon their arrested development and stop convincing themselves the world is aligned specifically for their personal displeasure, they'll arrive with something listenable."
Alternative Press ranked White Pony as the second best album of the year in 2000 and, subsequently, in their September 2010 issue placed it in their list of the “Top 10 Most Influential Albums of 2000.” UK rock magazine Kerrang! named White Pony their third best album of the year behind Queens of the Stone Age’s Rated R and At the Drive-In’s Relationship of Command. In 2011, Complex Media Network's music website, Consequence of Sound, honored White Pony on a List 'Em Carefully installment dedicated to writer David Buchanan's top thirteen metal records released between 2000 and 2010, citing how Deftones was one of several acts who "helped usher the popularity of complex structure meets MTV audience".[15]
The track "Elite" won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 2001.[16] About the awards' night, Deftones drummer Abe Cunningham comments: "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."[17]
Read more: Deftones hit the clubs, break out old favorites
White Pony is rated G in New Zealand.
All songs by Deftones, except "Passenger" by Deftones and Maynard James Keenan.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Feiticeira" | 3:09 |
| 2. | "Digital Bath" | 4:15 |
| 3. | "Elite" | 4:01 |
| 4. | "RX Queen" (feat. Scott Weiland) | 4:27 |
| 5. | "Street Carp" | 2:41 |
| 6. | "Teenager" | 3:20 |
| 7. | "Knife Prty" (feat. Rodleen Getsic) | 4:49 |
| 8. | "Korea" | 3:23 |
| 9. | "Passenger" (feat. Maynard James Keenan) | 6:07 |
| 10. | "Change (In the House of Flies)" | 5:00 |
| 11. | "Pink Maggit" | 7:32 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Feiticeira" | 3:09 |
| 2. | "Digital Bath" | 4:15 |
| 3. | "Elite" | 4:01 |
| 4. | "Rx Queen" (feat. Scott Weiland) | 4:27 |
| 5. | "Street Carp" | 2:41 |
| 6. | "Teenager" | 3:20 |
| 7. | "Knife Prty" (feat. Rodleen Getsic) | 4:49 |
| 8. | "Korea" | 3:23 |
| 9. | "Passenger" (feat. Maynard James Keenan) | 6:07 |
| 10. | "Change (In the House of Flies)" | 5:00 |
| 11. | "Pink Maggit" | 7:32 |
| 12. | "The Boy's Republic" | 4:37 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Back to School (Mini Maggit)" | 3:57 |
| 2. | "Feiticeira" | 3:09 |
| 3. | "Digital Bath" | 4:15 |
| 4. | "Elite" | 4:01 |
| 5. | "Rx Queen" (feat. Scott Weiland) | 4:27 |
| 6. | "Street Carp" | 2:41 |
| 7. | "Teenager" | 3:20 |
| 8. | "Knife Prty" (feat. Rodleen Getsic) | 4:49 |
| 9. | "Korea" | 3:23 |
| 10. | "Passenger" (feat. Maynard James Keenan) | 6:07 |
| 11. | "Change (In the House of Flies)" | 5:00 |
| 12. | "Pink Maggit" | 7:32 |
*From original release (gray cover)
*Main article: Digital Bath
*Main article: Change (In the House of Flies)
*From re-release edition
*Main article: Back to School (Mini Maggit)
*From original limited edition
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| Country | Certification |
|---|---|
| Australia[36] | Gold |
| Canada[37] | Gold |
| United Kingdom[38] | Gold |
| United States[39] | Platinum |
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