The Deftones

White Pony

By Jim Stroh

The Deftones’ White Pony stands out among a sea of “same old same old” metal, and cheesy corporate crap.  Unlike most current metal, the dynamics in their songs range from soft to loud and relaxed to intense.  The band’s rare qualities allow the music to cross into the world of MTV without sounding fake or overproduced as many of their peer commercial metal bands.

On a first listen, many of the lyrics remain a slurred mystery, but this should not surprise or bother your typical metal fan.  The surprise comes more from the way Chino sings over the heaviest guitar riffs without sounding cheap or annoying, much like POD or Pappa Roach. 

“Knife Party” provides a perfect example of decent singing over a heavy riff.  The chorus features the lyrics “so get your knife” sung distantly over a pounding guitar and drum combination.  The album also features much softer dynamics.  The song “Teenager” lacks distortion and Chino sings softly in falsetto. However, he reserves the stereotypical metal screaming for songs like “Elite” which calls for more extreme vocals.  White Pony also features some guest vocals by Maynard (Tool/A Perfect Circle) on “passenger.”  He makes a great surprise treat for the Deftones due to his rare ability to pull off good singing in a heavy band.

The group’s members compliment each other’s styles exceptionally well.  The guitar playing remains heavy, but does not come off as overly simple nor overly complex.  Their detuned guitars stick closer to creative rhythms and chords.  Their styles clearly compliment each other on the album’s first single, “change (in the house of flies).”  This song ties together their dynamical abilities, sludgy riffs, melodic vocals, and groove happy drums.

The drums bring the music together, Abe Cunningham’s beats loosely tying the rhythm together, giving the music a free, unrestricted sound.  Unlike traditional metal such as Motorhead, the drums allow the music to breathe, which gives the album a different, but still heavy sound.  Cunningham avoids the overused blast beats and excessive double bass that have a way of ruining the groove of a song.  This added space provided by the drums keeps the music accessible to a wider audience.

Many people regard heavy metal as “just a bunch of noise.”  In some cases they are correct, but White Pony gives a great example of truly musical metal.  Simply put, the Deftones add creativity and originality to heavy music.