But the band’s guitarist, Stephen Carpenter, did not approve of this idea, as he wanted to make the record go in a sonically heavier direction, which resulted in many heated discussions among the band members and made the songwriting sessions quite stressful. He also intended to experiment with slower, mellower styles. Instead of sticking to the predominantly heavy sounds that characterized the band's first two albums, Chino Moreno wanted to add a broader range of instruments to the Deftones' sound palette, as he was unexpectedly into electronic music – thanks to DJ Shadow and his Entroducing album.
White Pony was the first – and certainly not the last – Deftones album to feature different elements of musical genres: from trip-hop to post-rock. At a time when metal bands were succumbing to trends, and grunge, the biggest movement of the 90s, was on life support, Chino Moreno and his bandmates found ways to mature and refine their sound without bending to the pressure of their record label. White Pony elevated the band high above the entire nu-metal scene, which they reluctantly but still treated. Twenty-two years ago this month, the band raised people’s eyebrows with their new album. Their third album, White Pony, was the ultimate middle finger to such ties. While the Californian band Deftones had had a hand in creating that scene with their 1995 debut album, Adrenaline, their second project, Around the Fur (1997), seemed like an attempt to distance themselves from that niche with a collection of experimental songs that mixed agony and serenity.
Multiple sound-alike bands were placing hip-hop vocals on top of loud guitar riffs and heavy drums, achieving massive success and collecting platinum sales. Back when Britney Spears was doing it again on the Video Music Award stage, Eminem was walking around grabbing his you-know-what while breaking sales records, and boyband posters were covering up teenagers’ bedroom walls, the peak of the nu-metal era was happening on the other side of MTV.
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