This year marked the 20th anniversary of White Pony by The Deftones. It's an absolutely outstanding album that came out of a genre that it wasn't meant to be in. Nu-Metal is exactly what it isn't and for those that continue to lump it with that genre you would be wrong and also you would be making Chino a very sad and upset boy. But listen that's not why I'm writing this post. With the year at an end I thought it was about time that I talk about the interesting facts that came with the making of this album and then ultimately the 20th Anniversary reissue on vinyl.
So If you listened to our 2nd podcast episode with Jeremy Hernandez you learned a few cool facts about the making of the album and a some interesting stuff that happened shortly before and shortly after it. Here are the top 5 facts I think are the most interesting.
Most of the album was wrought out of consistent butting of heads by Chino Moreno & Stephen Carpenter. These two apparently were trying to inspire and outdo each other on every song. From this their emotions got high and the relationship between the two began to be strained, however, it was because of this that the album has the feeling it does. To put it bluntly the two would scream at each other constantly and it got weird for everyone.
Maynard James Keegan's vocals on Passenger was a completely spontaneous decision. It all started at Ozzfest when Chino was asked by Maynard to come out to LA to jam and fool around with some music (at this point they had already been friends), and Chino along with the rest of the band decided to jump on the opportunity. And let's face it who in their right mind would pass that up? Anyway despite their different work ethics they basically wrote the music for Passenger in 3 days, but they didn't have anything vocally. After a while Maynard picked up the mic and just started to do his thing, and Chino loved it. Chino though didn't want any guest vocalists on the album. When it finally came time to record the song Chino tried his own things vocally, but nothing sounded as good as what Maynard did. So eventually he gave in and contacted him and the rest is history.
During recording the band rented out and stayed in a Haunted Mansion, and supposedly scary as hell. The Deftones were not the only band to stay in the mansion during recording, and they certainly were not the last, but something all of the bands have in common from staying there was that some freaky shit happened and they all saw what looked like floating orbs in the corner of different rooms. Apparently Chino was so freaked out by what he had seen and what he was told about the house that he decided to move out and paid for his own hotel room far away from the mansion.
Scott Weiland (RIP) of the band Stone Temple Pilots has an uncredited vocal cameo on the track RX Queens. If you listen really closely you can absolutely hear Scott's voice and you can't mistake that unique sound. As the story goes Scott had just been incarcerated for Heroin Possession and Deftones A&R man Guy Oseary wanted him out of jail. But in order to be out of jail Scott had to show proof that he was actually working. So Guy asked Chino if Scott could work on and help with the album. Chino agreed and met Scott at the studio. Scott had a melody in his head, picked up the mic, and laid the vocals down. Chino loved it and wanted to keep it in.
It was Change (In The House of Flies) that set the tone for the rest of the album. According to Chino it was a free flowing writing process for this song. They started playing some guitar riffs, then the keyboard, and without any other direction the rest of the band just came in and it became this creepy brooding song. They decided that this is how they wanted the rest of the album to sound like. Creepy, haunting, and brooding. And not surprisingly Change would end up being the main single off the album.
For more interesting facts about this album check the links below
If you don't already own this album then you are truly missing out on something so original and special. I highly recommend getting this album on vinyl. And for those of you who wish they owned it on vinyl and feel like they missed out don't worry. This being the 20th Anniversary album brought a 20th Anniversary edition. And if that wasn't enough there is a 4xLP edition that is definitely worth getting. Not Only White Pony, but a remixed version of the album called Black Stallion. Check out the tracks and remixed them below along with the link on where to buy it.
Black Stallion
1. Feiticeira (Clams Casino remix)
2. Digital Bath (DJ Shadow remix)
3. Elite (Blanck Mass remix)
4. Rx Queen (Salva remix)
5. Street Carp (Phantogram remix)
6. Teenager (Robert Smith remix)
7. Knife Prty (Purity Ring remix)
8. Korea (Trevor Jackson remix)
9. Passenger (Mike Shinoda remix)
10. Change (In the House of Flies) (Tourist remix)
11. Pink Maggit (Squarepusher remix)
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