Uncompromising and abrasive? Check. Forays into acoustic-dom and contemplative lyrics? Check. One of the best albums so far this year? Check again.
On White Pony, their third album, Deftones have created a record of breathtaking contrasts, setting themselves even further apart from their so-called ‘nu metal’ counterparts, and firmly establishing themselves as one of the smartest heavy rock acts around.
But Deftones have always been one step ahead of their contemporaries. Never one dimensional, obvious, or reliant on self-absorbed lyrics about ‘how their life sucks’.
![Deftones - My Own Summer (Official Music Video) [HD Remaster] - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/XOzs1FehYOA/maxresdefault.jpg)
It's taken three years since the critically acclaimed Around The Fur was released for White Pony to appear. And despite the hype surrounding it, the album doesn't disappoint.
“We know what we're doing now. We're much more confident,” begins Stef. “When we did the first album [1995's Adrenaline], we just wanted to put out a record. We were all really nervous. I don't want to sound arrogant, but we've just produced a really awesome record.”
Okay, whatever. But Stef's breathless excitement when he talks about White Pony makes it clear that he's convinced it's destined for great things.
But first a warning, if you're not quite sure what to expect.
There are no Method Mans or Ice Cubes here. The only departure from the trad four-piece rock band is Frank Delgado on turntables, now a fully integrated member.
Instead, frontman Chino Moreno is joined by his good friend Maynard James Keenan (Tool/A Perfect Circle) on Passenger, and Stone Temple Pilots' Scott Weiland (one of the most versatile names in rock at the moment) helped him with his vocals on RX Queen.
Not only that, but the acoustic-led Teenager is, according to Chino, “a love song.”
You don't find many of those on a Slipknot album.
That's not to say the Sacramento boys have gone all soft on us.
Elite is one of the hardest songs the band have ever written, with Chino's voice put through a robotic vocoder, and Stef's ESP given free rein to provide one of the most brutal guitar moments on the album. Similarly, Ficticiera is led by Stef's trademark growling riffs and driving rhythms.
This diversity of styles wasn't initially intended, but was the result of a need for a compromise between two conflicting styles of songwriters. The guitarist is quick to confess to a lot of tension between them.
“Me and Chino rowed a lot when we were working on White Pony. It was a really abrasive process, and that's because we're both into really different music. Basically, I just wanted to make a heavy metal album, and Chino was like, ‘No way.’
“He's always represented the softer side of Deftones. He likes stuff like The Smiths and The Cure and Depeche Mode, whereas I'm into heavier music, particularly bands that have seven-string players, like Fear Factory and Meshuggah.”
Perhaps Stef's hard 'n' heavy leanings were part of the reason why Chino decided to strap on a guitar this time around, though Stef's metal-edged playing is still, for the most part, at the forefront.
“Chino plays on Pink Maggit, Digital Bath, and Teenager – the acoustic one – is just him playing. He plays on Change, too. All of the quieter, poppier songs, really.”
For a grind merchant like Stef, Teenager is surely something of a cop out? Initially, he agrees.
“I hate it! I think Chino's playing is awful!”
Really? “Well, no.”
Pushed further, Stef admits that although acoustic balladry isn't exactly his cup of tea, songs like Teenager still have their place – even on a Deftones album.
“I suppose I came round a little to Chino's way of thinking when we were doing White Pony, and I like those songs a lot better now than I did.
“I guess it's important to explore different directions, and it was time for a change. We couldn't have made another album like Around The Fur.”
Rewind, past Around The Fur, to the mid '80s when Stef was growing up. Bands like Metallica and Slayer were busy pioneering the thrash metal sound, and quickly became heroes for the young Stef. It was one of those songs that became the first track he learned to play.
“Yeah, it was Among The Living by Anthrax, I was about 13,” he fondly recalls.
Stef may be a product of '80's metal, but don't have him down as any solo aficionado or spotlight hogger.
“What does it for me most are really good rhythm players. I'm a big fan of guitarists like James Hetfield, and I think you can hear those influences in my own playing.”
It was players such as Hetfield that first attracted Stef to ESPs, and he now has two signature models – a six- and seven-string, complete with Seymour Duncan pickups.
Despite the band having all their gear nicked (along with the van it was in) last year when they were touring with Black Sabbath, this prompted no real change in Stef's choice of equipment. The only change to his original setup is the acquisition of a TC Electronic FireworX, which he says provides him with unlimited sounds.
“I get pretty much all my effects from that now, although I still use my Rocktron (Replifex – rack effects), my ESPs, and my main amps are still Marshall. I've got pretty much everything I want at the minute. The only thing I'm thinking about getting is one of those new Line 6 rack-mountable heads.”
White Pony was a mostly six-string led affair, and the album, at least from a guitar point of view, doesn't differ greatly from Around The Fur. But Stef has something up his sleeve for the next record.
“I've been playing seven-string a lot more,” he confesses conspiratorially. “Again, like the new directions we've explored on this album, it's just a matter of moving forward. I've been playing six for a long time now, and now I want to see what I can do with seven.”
Can we really believe Stef when he tells us his favorite guitarists are in Metallica, Slayer, and Fear Factory? Or has he got some Steve Vai workouts and Satch soloing in store?
He says not – and unlike a lot of the ‘player players’, he isn't of the opinion that contemporaries Korn haven't pushed the seven to its full potential. Not that he's a big fan anyway.
“Everyone acts like Korn were the first 7-string players, but what about all of those death metallers? I could write some Korn songs easily, and there's not one I really like.
“Okay, we know them, they're our friends, but they're still living off the hype of that first record. And as for Fred (Durst, Limp Bizkit), no matter what anyone says, he completely ripped Chino off. Reality is reality.”
Harsh words maybe, but with Korn becoming increasingly full of their own pomposity (can they really make another album based around Jonathan Davis' sorry life story?), could Stef be the new 7-stringer on the block? Especially as he informs us that his good friend Wes (Borland, Limp Bizkit) is fed up of being associated with sevens, and is playing mostly six now.
Whatever the outcome, seven strings will make Deftones even heavier: Wonder if Stef has told Chino? Somehow we don't think so...
- This feature first appeared in the Summer 2000 issue of Total Guitar.
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