Review Summary: The most outstanding and outlandish Deftones LP recorded. Here's my perspective.
It’s number one simply because it is absolutely madatory that it is, in fact, number one. The only reason I have to give that “White Pony” is in any way greater than that of the eclectic “Saturday Night Wrist” is because while “Wrist” could be a personal and particular preference amongst the more die-hard fans, 2000’s “White Pony” is universally magnificent. In other words, if you were to advise a Deftones virgin on what album they should listen to first to know what the band is all about, just say “mother***ing ‘White Pony’ right now”.
Pulling their Adidas kicks out of the muck of the still on-going nu metal movement, Deftones decided to stay true to their influences and their own desires to establish themselves as a group that would transcend the rap metal-white trash wigger bridge in popular culture. If you went out to purchase this musical behemoth when relatively when it initially came out, then I envy for being granted the chance to get your hands on the original version of this album at its utmost authenticity with its exclusion of “Back To School (Mini Maggit)” being the introductory track. But while “Feiticeira” is a greatly foreboding first track, I personally think it’s actually pretty enjoyable to hear the chorus of “Back To School” reoccur in the album’s final track, “Pink Maggit”. It’s almost like the melodies act as an adhesive coil for the beginning and end of this masterpiece.
I also think that Deftones created an album that encapsulated the aura of “Around the Fur“‘s sexual undertones with their adept ability to deal out raw and crisp riffs with plenty of clarity in the production value with tracks like “Digital Bath” and “Knife Prty”. It also could be considered the band’s first successful shot at emulating the space rock sound they caught off from HUM’s “You’d Prefer An Astronaut”. Even just by looking at the tracklist credits, the album is very enticing as well with noted collaborations with STP’s Scott Weiland on “Rx Queen” and prog metal icon Maynard James Keenan on the cathartic and spine-chilling “Passenger”, which is most likely one of the greatest songs that they've lived to record. But let’s face the facts. People back in 1997 who were never Deftones fans prior to buying “Around the Fur” only after being impressed about “My Own Summer” and “Be Quiet and Drive Away” were probably the same people who went to get the re-issue of “White Pony” in 2001 just to hear “Back To School” and “Change (In the House of Flies)”. In fact, it was around this time that Deftones became one of the modern metal soundtrack bands, having their signature song “Change” in the soundtracks for everything from “Queen of the Damned” and the Dragonball Z film “Cooler’s Revenge” all the way to TV shows like “Alias” and even more recently “Dexter”. The cultural impact of “White Pony” is still undeniable.
Lastly, the album concludes on a rather finalizing track that builds a great sense of closure and absolution to the LP. “Pink Maggit” is probably still one of my favorite outro tracks to an album. It is 7 minutes of pure progression and creates a great feeling of farewell to the fulfilled listener. I still have not heard a record that sounds much of anything like Deftones’ “White Pony” besides the next four releases that would come from them since that fateful year at the start of new millennium. Regardless of what I proposed about “Diamond Eyes”, I can only fantasize about the group coming out with a breath-taking sequel to this masterpiece. It would be a rather fulfilling experience for me as well the rest of their fans I’m sure.
