The northern Californian Metal band Deftones released "White Pony", their third album in 2000. The Sacramento band showed just how far they could take the conventional sounds of the time and twist them in their own experimental way. I know very little about the band other than the fact that the lead vocalist, Chino Moreno, shares my name (although mine is spelled with two 'i's) combined with the fact that they dropped hardcore Metal through the key 2000 turning point was enough to get me interested.

1. "Feiticeira"

Getting the album underway, you have one which finds them getting right down to the Metal work with some drumming which really represents what the Metal scene was coming up with at the time (especially with the Nu-Metal rise). The vocals aren't really all that here, but they really fit in with the trends of the time.

**Three Stars**

2. "Digital Bath"

This was one of the single from the album and it finds them going for a song which has them taking on the kind of structure which was popular with the Metal scene at the time with music which finds them frequently flipping from some light stuff, designed to add tension to the atmosphere, before dropping hardcore breakdowns, but it didn't quite hit me here.

**Two Stars**

3. "Elite"

You see that things make a significant shift as they get into this one and you see that they perform a track which appears to fit in with the kind of Nu-Metal work which the likes of KoRn, Disturbed and SlipKnot were doing around this time as they choose to do a tune packed with high-energy instrumentals. It is a big track and really impressed me.

**Four Stars**

4. "RX Queen"

Off what was a Grammy Award-winning number from the band, you see that they go for a track which appears to take some elements of that type of thing into this one, and making the most engaging aspects put in a secondary role in the thing as it just forms the hook, but regardless of it being compressed into specific parts, it still makes for a good one.

**Three Stars**

5. "Street Carp"

You have them getting into some heavy, head-banging work, and I felt that it was a great track to keep this album following and in order to keep the listener connected with the music which they produce. I have to say that in this one the lyrics become much more a part of the music than with earlier ones, and I felt that they really made you take more notice of the various things going on within it.

**Four Stars**

6. "Teenager"

They really turn things around in this one as you see that from the opening moments of the song that the direction of it has been twisted somewhat towards much lighter things, and when taking into account what they have done previously, I expected that this would indicate that eventually this would work its way towards some sort o heavy breakdown, however as it appeared to go along, it didn't come to any sort of key change, and so I just couldn't connect with it, and it felt like a lifeless recording which always made you thing more was going to come.

**One Star**

7. "Knife Party"

Here you see that they get back to their usual selves after a short time getting into more experimental work, and I felt that as they worked their way towards this more recognisable work, it just wasn't doing what it was before, and I believe that the cause of it was having such a weak tune prior to it. You really have to take the time to take in the lyrics of thins, but I wasn't really feeling them that much.

**Two Stars**

8. "Korea"

Here you see that they have got right back to the kind of things which was heard on "Elite", and I felt that it was perfectly-timed as it gets them performing a track which they no will pull in the most listeners, and they really nail it just after they lost me (and presumably others) with the last couple of poor ones.

**Four Stars**

9. "Passenger"

In this one you have them keeping the exciting work going and I found that for this particular tune, in spite of the fact Chino resorts to thee same old (properly) sung vocals, the rest of the band ensure that the recording is brought down by this as they do one which has them bringing lots of other influences with a little Hip Hop-styled percussion getting it going before things change later towards yet more original stuff.

**Four Stars**

10. "Change"

This was the lead single to the album, and it is one which has them really pulling out something special as they perform a pretty long one which seems to fly by as they use a very typical and effective structure to base the song around as they do one which apparently has them shifting erratically from one pace to another to keep the listener guessing.

**Four Stars**

11. "Pink Maggit"

Bringing the album to a close you have the longest song on the album and it is one which gets them taking advantage of the fact that they have lots of time to work with as they do one which has them dragging things out and showing their experimental nature and imagination. I felt that it was one which appeared to round things off well, but wasn't quite of the standard which others were.

**Three Stars**

I have to say that I was impressed by this album, as I really wasn't expecting to get much off it which I would actually enjoy. It sees them doing some pretty exciting work when trying out many different experimental takes on Metal including Nu-Metal (which peaked around this time). There's quite a bit of variation within it, and it shows many aspects of their music.