The result is guitar that sounds like someone threw Carpenter's amp stack into a lake, then tossed a blanket on top. Where their magnum opus shoveled sludge at the listener in an octave more easily processed by the human ear, guitarist Stephen Carpenter seemingly sinks lower and lower into the quagmire of modern metal's fascination with ridiculously low guitar tunings. It's hard to fault the Deftones for making a worse record than "White Pony," but we'll manage. Combining heavy metal guitars and futuristic electronica touches with the alternately delicate and larynx-rending singing style of Chino Moreno, "White Pony" would make the perfect soundtrack to some cyberpunk film noir that was never made: as sharp in its execution as a chrome shuriken and a tone and feel as blurry as the glow of neon in the rain. "White Pony" should stand as one of the best recordings made at the onset of the 21st century. Deftones will always be one of the most inspired and original acts in rock/metal music and I'm sure with each release they will hone and perfect their craft. This beauty is also worked into 'Anniversary of an Uninteresting Event', which if it had been up to me would have been swapped with 'Moana' for it serves as the better closing track, winding things down and leaving you serene.Ĭhino's vocals are top notch here, and the musicianship is top of the game as well, the whole package being one of the best albums to be released in a long time. The chorus is just so calming and 's one of my favorite songs ever penned. It appeared on the Matrix Reloaded soundtrack, and it fit.but here, in the element that is Deftones it holds much more presence beings the only of it's kind. It's the haunting beauty of 'Lucky You' though that stands out as the most inspired track here. The later two though hold my attention better than the former. 'Deathblow' and even 'Battle Ax' carry this same feel, not much screaming, more like yelling over some heavy yet not brutal riffs. They turn a softer leaf with tracks like 'Good Morning Beautiful' and the closer 'Moana', songs that have more of a 'White Pony' feel to them.
And I want to make mention that 'When Girls Telephone Boys' is one of the most brutal tracks Deftones have ever put out.Chino is god, I swear. The follow this brilliant direction in 'Bloody Cape' as well, delivering brutal force and seductive elegance all at the same time. Mix Chino's haunting vocals and brilliant lyrics with Carpenter's crushing guitars and Delgado's soundscapes and added textures and you have a perfect song. 'Needles and Pins' though is what really kicks this album off. 'Hexagram' opens the album with ferocity and brutality that lets you know to expect a true to form Deftones album. I will admit that when I first heard the single 'Minerva' I was less than impressed, but even that track has grown on me since purchasing the album. On their fourth (self titled) disc Chino and the boys dig deep and hand us 11 tracks all different, all spectacular. One of my favorite bands for the main reason that they are unique in themselves and will not conform, The Deftones have once again pushed the boundaries of modern rock/metal and delivered another brilliant escape from the norm. Enhanced CD features include studio and day-in-the-life-of band video footage, as well as 150 candid photos. From there on, the mood drifts from languor ("Deathblow") to brooding ("Battle-axe," "Lucky You"), while "Bloody Cape" edges the band ever closer to traditional pop hooks before drifting into the resigned, psych-torpor of "Anniversary of an Uninteresting Event." A compelling and encouraging album-even if it's taken them 15 years to get this far. If they stray uncomfortably close to jagged-rhythms formula in the album's opening quarter, the almost sunny sensuality of "Good Morning Beautiful" heralds some welcome shafts of light amidst the storm clouds.
Mic man Chino Moreno's patent yowl belies a range of emotion rare in the genus, while guitarist Stephen Carpenter seasons his buzz-saw assault with some industrial-strength riff textures and mixer Frank Delgado's spooky, synthetic textures further underscore Moreno's blossoming lyrical impressionism. While alt/nu/rap-metal typically bounds between two emotional poles-pissed-off and extremely pissed-off-and a musical range to match, the Deftones continue to push the genre's narrow boundaries outward on their fourth big-label release.