White Pony - Deftones
Metascore
72 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 15
  3. Negative: 1 out of 15
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  1. Checkout.com
    90
    A complex, heavily textured album that aims for the stars.
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  2. BBC Music
    90
    That such a progressive, risk-taking LP wasn't celebrated across the board for its gutsy reinventing of a band thought pigeonholed wasn't that surprising, though – this is a difficult album.
  3. Alternative Press (Record Of The Week)
    90
    White Pony works on many different levels, with its treatises on alienation, art-rock explorations and soundtracks for people who don't take drugs but want to transcend the mundane. [Record of the Week pick]
  4. New Musical Express (NME)
    80
    Massive in pretension, slightly too long and gothic, but when all the pieces fit, you can't deny its unstoppable power.
  5. Sonicnet
    80
    When you can make out their lyrics... you realize that these guys are really the artier, more nuanced and textured cousins of Korn.
  6. All Music Guide
    80
    The Deftones went soft, but in an impressive way, to twist around its signature punk thrash sound.
  7. Billboard
    80
    But for all the growth, the band's continuing inclination toward a bludgeoning sonic attack and Moreno's violent, impressionistic lyrics make this a tough pill to swallow for most listeners.
  8. CDNow
    80
    It's surprising how well the songs on White Pony absorb the band's disparate influences (Slayer, the Cure, Bad Brains) without compromising any of its destructive effect.
  9. Spin
    80
    Far and away Deftones' most daring and impassioned work to date.
  10. Wall of Sound
    74
    A dense and textured rock affair that builds a bridge between grunge, goth, and industrial stylings.
  11. MTV.com
    70
    At their worst, Deftones can sound almost like a parody of themselves. But at their best, the band fashions a heavy, claustrophobic atmosphere in which Moreno spins his dark, personal tales of misery and heartbreak against a backdrop of music that careens from the ugly to the beautiful. Most of the time, White Pony finds Deftones at their best.
  12. Nude As The News
    65
    With White Pony, the Deftones have crafted the kind of top-notch album that Tool and Korn have been wanting to make for years.
  13. Q Magazine
    60
    Their most adventurous and assured album to date?
  14. Rolling Stone
    60
    White Pony ends up being more accessible than the group's two previous albums, because it's not a half-formed mess but a classic alternative-rock album, as gentle and catchy as it is dark.
  15. Select
    20
    Maybe when they abandon their arrested development and stop convincing themselves the world is aligned specifically for their personal displeasure, they'll arrive at something listenable. [July 2000, p.112]
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User Reviews

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User Score
9.2 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 76 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 35 out of 36
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 36
  3. Negative: 1 out of 36
  1. JanisK.
    10
    Pure genius.
  2. ribena_wrath
    10
    Purely a fantastic album. This is the album where they learn when they need to be quiet, and it pays off. This album is sonic, and heavy, and grungy. But always delicate and soothing and dark. Somehow, Deftones can mix 'dark' with 'soothing' and make it work.

    Personal Highlights: Change, Digital Bath, Knife Party, Passenger, RX Queen.    … Full Review »
  3. forestville
    9
    Deftones has always been difficult to explain or categorize a specific musical genre. But despite not feeling comfortable in that place have been one of the best capitalized groups of Nu Metal's move in the early 90s.
    His first two jobs Adrenaline (1995) and Around the Fur (1997) were used to be known in his own country, but his third plate White Pony (2000) Deftones achievement acquire a name worldwide earning the respect of critics and managing to sound massively.

    "Change (In the House of Flies)" and "Digital Bath" were the themes emblematic of White Pony. Few others like the quiet "Teenager" surprised by the change from the style of the band.'s Also worth noting the presence Maynard James Keenan of Tool singer who develops nicely in the duet performed with Chino Moreno on "Passenger".
    Despite denying the label "key band of Nu Metal", thanks to this current Deftones astronomically increased his popularity and managed to stay through the years mutated into their sound.

    In conclusion: White Pony is one of the best albums of Deftones, its evolution in sound, creativity and complexity. not listen, would be an offense to the music.    … Full Review »
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