Deftones
White Pony

THE REVIEW

You're probably tired of duplicates, but I wanted to begin my debaserian career by reviewing what is my favorite album.

An album I wouldn't dare to call "nu metal," but something much more varied and complex to describe.

The fury of the 4 from Sacramento (plus the new entry of Frank Delgado) still burns in episodes like "Feiticeira", "Elite", and "Korea" but makes room for a more introspective calm, already experimented by the group in their previous album with "Be Quiet And Drive".

The artistic peak of "Digital Bath" will never be reached again in the band's future productions, a track with a sensual rhythm, a warm and enveloping voice with a guitar that first caresses you and then slashes your throat and instead of blood lets a flow of thoughts and emotions run.

Yes, emotions, because many are experienced in this album, all impeccably told, like the sad love story of "Rx Queen" or the nostalgic episodes of Chino Moreno's adolescence in "Street Carp" and "Teenager", where the latter has notable trip-hop cues.

"Knife Party" is a soporific song, not because it's boring, but magical. A spiral of smoke and notes rocks us, not in a nice soft and warm bed, but in the middle of a dirty and filthy floor while towards the end of the song, Chino's vocal acrobatics transport our minds elsewhere, this time in a car.

You're with the one you love and two voices push your head like a swinging. The adrenaline rises, you can no longer restrain your desires and you explode in the chorus, screamed by an out-of-control Maynard James Keenan, tempered by a sweet piano outro. That was "Passenger".

Peace and melancholy return, and the room is tinged with gray. The muffled melodies of "Change" project a particular sequence in this gray room: a white horse galloping carefreely in the middle of this seemingly infinite space, it almost seems to come to life.

This sequence also eventually dissolves, making way for the Deftones' last gift.

I'm talking about "Pink Maggit", the pearl that closes the album: distorted arpeggios and other memories emerging from the past that explode into a musical big bang.

"Pushed back to square now that you kneed her in the throat, well there you go. 'Cause back to school we are the leaders of all".

The work certainly doesn't deserve five stars (or dots), but for me, this album means too much.