Deftones – White Pony (Vinyl LP)

Heavy enough to shake the walls, dreamy enough to disappear into - Deftones at their most atmospheric and adventurous.

Released in 2000, White Pony is the landmark third album from Sacramento's Deftones, a record that pushed alternative metal into darker, more experimental territory. Blending crushing riffs with shoegaze textures, electronic details and haunting melodies, the band created something far more nuanced than the nu metal label often applied to them.

The opening track, Feiticeira, throws you straight into the band's heavier side, while Digital Bath moves between shimmering electronics, delicate vocals and sudden bursts of distortion. Change (In the House of Flies) became one of their signature songs, its slow-building atmosphere and hypnotic chorus capturing the strange beauty at the heart of the album. And Passenger, featuring Maynard James Keenan of Tool, brings two distinctive vocal styles together in a tense, cinematic collaboration.

Frontman Chino Moreno's performance is central to the record's appeal. He shifts effortlessly between intimate whispers and visceral screams, often within the same song, while Stephen Carpenter's downtuned guitars and Frank Delgado's electronic textures create a sound that feels both physically heavy and almost weightless.

The album's title and artwork add to its enigmatic character. White Pony was a deliberate departure from the band's earlier sound, with the group embracing a more mature, experimental approach. The record won a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance for Elite in 2001, helping cement Deftones' reputation as one of the most distinctive bands in modern heavy music.

More than two decades later, White Pony remains a touchstone for alternative metal, shoegaze and heavy music that values atmosphere as much as aggression.

Essential for fans of alternative metal, nu metal, shoegaze and dark, immersive guitar music.