'I climbed your arms, then you pulled away.
New cavity moved into my heart today..."
Another year another anniversary to make you feel old.
This week marked the twenty (20!) year anniversary of Deftones incredible album, White Pony.
Deftones - White Pony: https://open.spotify.com/album/5LEXck3kfixFaA3CqVE7bC?si=YBXVca86Sl2s3ZhOOlR-Qw
I was a little late to the Deftones party, to be honest. Every time I heard them early on, it was on as background noise. I was never “shown” Deftones. None of my friends (as I recall) were deep into Deftones, most just liked the singles, so that was all I had heard. One friend did like White Pony quite a lot. I, however, did not take notice until 2004.
It was a sunny Saturday afternoon, which is rare for Mt. Gambier. Mike, Andrew and I had decided earlier in the morning that we would take a trip to Pt. Macdonnell, located about half an hour away from Mt. Gambier, making it the closest beach. After grabbing our gear, we set off for our little day trip. We took Andrew’s car, but as always, Mike and myself brought along some CDs for the drive. Mike sat up front and had control of the music. He quickly put in one of his mix CDs.
At some point during the trip a song came on and the music was turned up obnoxiously loud. It must have been one we all were vibing on, as I recall all of us just singing and dancing along, typical teenage behaviour. Once the song finished, the volume stayed up and they started talking to each other. Me being in the back, I couldn’t hear them at all, so I sat back and looked out the window. Then I noticed the music.
A lazily strummed guitar came twinkling through the speakers. It’s a beautiful sounding tone, delicate and pretty. The drums enter suddenly. It's a simple but sits deep in the pocket, then that instantly recognisable voice...
“I watched you change,
Into flies...”
Even with my minimal knowledge, I knew it was Deftones. Chino's voice is one of a kind. I would hedge my bets and say I had heard this song before, but this was the first time I sat and listened with minimal distractions. His voice is ethereal, it's so fragile throughout the verse. His melodies and note choices are unexpected. The bass rumbling below (along with the drums), gives the song a little bit of urgency. Once the chorus drops, his voice opens up. His voice always feels like it is on the edge, like it’s going crack. He seems like he is always reaching to hit the notes. The band open up also, matching Chino’s soaring vocals.
“Oi Simon?! What you reckon?”
I had no clue what the fuck Andrew was talking about. I was so lost in the song. Mike smiled knowingly.
“What’s this song called?” I asked.
Change.
I locked the name in my brain so I could download it once I got home.
We arrived at Pt. Macdonnell. Now usually when you get there, you chuck a left and go to Brown’s Bay for a swim. Andrew took a right.
Where are we going? I wondered.
We pulled up into a car park. Andrew and Mike started walking into the bush, so I followed. After a short walk, space opens up to sand dunes. I never knew this place existed. I had also never been to any form of dunes before. Andrew came prepared with a bodyboard and some disc thing to slide on. We spent the rest of the afternoon listening to music on a portable CD player, running up and down dunes, Bodyboarding down and jumping off massive ledges. We even made some goals and took turns taking free-kicks with the beach ball we had. It was great to get away, even if it was only to Port Mac. We all had troubles going on (this taking place before Mike’s attempted suicide) and this got my mind off things. If we had gone to Browns Bay, we would have run into other people and it would not have been as relaxing. As the sun started to set, we went and grabbed fish and chips and took them back to the dunes to eat. It was like something out of a movie, we just sat there watching the sunset over the horizon. Nothing was said. We just sat in each other’s company, knowing we had each other to help us through whatever we needed help with. At least that was my feeling. Looking back at it now, and knowing what would take place later on in the year, that’d have been the perfect time to check in with my friends.
We jumped back into the car, where Mike’s mix CD was still in the CD player. We pull out onto the highway and the same twinkling guitar tone came through the speakers. I realised quickly this time that it was another Deftones song.
“I get all, numb
When she sings that "It's over"
Such a strange, numb
And it brings my knees to the earth”
The band enters full throttle, a lot sooner than in the previous song. Chino’s voice is still graceful, but with a little more conviction. The instrumental has a lot more intensity, but his melody still has a laidback feel to it. He matches the band in the chorus where his vocals ascend to another level. The song is relaxing for me, considering the intensity of the music. The laid back groove and melody give the song a more chilled vibe, it’s an amazing feat. I would consider it a soft song, but really, it’s not.
“What’s this song, Mike?”
Knowing he had made me a fan of Deftones, he smirked.
“Minerva. I’ve got a couple of other Deftones songs on my computer. I’ll show you tomorrow.”
That night I downloaded Minerva and Change (In The House Of Flies). I was excited to hear more of their stuff. I could not believe I had sat on them for so long. Fuck I am an idiot...
Mike picks me up the next day to go to his house. We were playing video games and listening to music. I was so eager to hear these other Deftones songs but he had forgotten. He could be a bit dipsy, ol’ Mike. Eventually, I asked where are the songs.
“Oh shit! Yeah man, sorry. Listen to this!”
Otherworldly swirls instantly filled the air of his bedroom, building the anticipation. The drums and guitar enter, there’s that drum sound again. I started to recognise some of their unique elements. The drum pattern matches the guitar work, kind of frenetic and bouncy. The drum pattern is utterly brilliant. It was the first time took notice of Abe’s drum work. He has such groove, he’s one of the best modern rock drummers.
Then, Chino's laidback croon slides in...
“Here I lay...”
A second voice enters.
“Still and breathless”
Who the fuck was that second voice? That wasn’t Chino, but I know that voice...
“Just like always”
...
“Still, I want some more”
Is that...
“Is that Maynard?”
Mike smiled and nodded.
Holy Fuck! A collab with Maynard! I was a massive fan of A Perfect Circle, so this was a welcomed surprise! Maynard’s voice was stirring and perfectly balanced out Chino’s wispy voice with a steady tone. The song breaks down and Maynard's vocals take centre stage. He lowers his voice to a whispering croon. The swirls re-emerge with piano, bringing the song back to an airy vibe.
Then it explodes into the chorus. Maynard’s voice ascends to another level.
“Roll the windows down
This cool night air is curious
Let the whole world look in
Who cares who sees anything?”
Right there and then, I decided this was the greatest song I had ever heard.
He then showed me Elite. This song was completely different from anything I had heard them do before. It does not fuck around, kicking off with Chino’s screeching vocals. How the hell he can keep it up for another 4 minutes is astonishing. It sounds like his screams are ripping apart his vocal cords. The song does not let up, keeping the aggressive energy at a high level for the duration of the song.
Street Carp was up next and was similar to Elite in its intensity. Although Chino mostly sings for the duration of the track, the instrumental is a balls-out rock affair. The chorus then dropped and I started to sing along.
“Well, here’s my new address
6-6-4, oh, I forget...”
I know this song. Where do I know this song from?
Holy Shit it’s off of the MTV Skateboarding Playstation Game!
Fuck, what a trip! Everyone talks about the Tony Hawk’s games having the best soundtrack, but they’re wrong. It’s MTV Skateboarding. Although, a much inferior game, the soundtrack was killer. I remember playing it back in ‘00/‘01, it introduced me to Cypress Hill and the fact it had Sugar by SOAD almost trumps anything the THPS games had. Anyway, I digress...
I would burn a copy of White Pony off Mike that day. I would spend my spare time listening to that album, studying it, but unfortunately, I would not have it long. It was in my CD case which I left in Mikes car the day it was stolen and burnt out... I lost so many CDs that day, i shed a tear whenever I think about it..
Having lost my copy of White Pony, I became obsessed with Minerva. The song was everywhere as it was released just a year earlier. I have been struggling to find a way to describe the song properly. A 2016 Consequence of Sound article by Jon Hadusek makes the claim that
"[in] a way, Deftones brought shoegaze to the alternative metal mainstream with 'Minerva', a crushingly heavy, textured jam indebted to Siamese Dream-era Smashing Pumpkins and HUM.”
I think that is quite a good way of explaining the song. It’s a heavy shoegaze song. Back in 04’ however, I had no idea what shoegaze was, so it was a new sound for my ears.
I would eventually download Change, Passenger and Back to School (Mini Maggit) and a little while later, the rest of the album. White Pony became the definitive Deftones album for me. I didn’t bother with their others, bar a song here or there. It was White Pony or get-the-fuck-out for a few years, at least until the 2010 release of Diamond Eyes. I would then venture back through all their albums to discover everything I hade been missing out on. I would claim that most modern alternative rock/metal bands (mine included), are influenced by White Pony. In a landscape dominated by Nu-Metal, Deftones crafted a sound that all corners of the heavy and alternative world adored. They broke away from the restraints of Nu-Metal and pioneered a sound all of their own. Unlike a lot of the music released in the late nineties/early-noughties, White Pony has withstood the test of time, sounding like it could have dropped yesterday. Although Minerva is the song this memory is attached too, it was White Pony that won me over. The album was was full of new ideas and proved to be a gateway to more alternative and progressive music. Having seen them live at least 4 times, obsessed over the drum pattern for Digital Bath (I’m lucky enough to have seen Dave Elitch play this up close!) and even cover the song Change in my band, it is safe to say this album affected me as a musician and a music lover.
Happy 20th White Pony.
For those interested...
Deftones Live (A fan youtube page), put together this video to celebrate the 20 year anniversary of White Pony. Theres some cool visual stuff, some live videos of the songs and even some acoustic performances. :-)
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