Deftones’ iconic alt-metal masterpiece White Pony turned 20 earlier this year, and needless to say, it flipped the nu-metal script around entirely. Sure, Deftones have always had a difficult relationship with the moniker, but there’s no denying that they were far ahead of the game compared to their peers – more diverse and not afraid to reign in key influences like The Cure, post-punk, and an emphasis on electronic soundscapes. There’s a reason tracks like “Digital Bath” are revered 20 years after their release.
That influences obviously carries over to vocals, especially. Vocalist Chino Moreno is a key influence on many modern vocalists, especially Saosin // Circa Survive frontman Anthony Green. In a new interview with Revolver, the vocalist discussed what the album means to him – and why it had such a huge impact on his own music.
When asked about when he first discovered Deftones, Anthony responded in kind:
“The first time I heard them was around Adrenaline. I think the video for “Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)” was on MTV or 120 Minutes or something … And I was like, Damn this is so cool. The next time I heard about them this girl Lauren gave me a mix tape that had “Digital Bath” on it. White Pony had just come out, but I didn’t have it. And Colin [Frangicetto], who’s in Circa with me, had the cassette tape of it in his car. I think he’d stolen a promotional copy from the college radio station he worked at, and I listened to it over and over again. I really got obsessed with that record. I had friends who liked the Deftones a lot, but for some reason because they liked them I just couldn’t get into it. Then when White Pony came out it was too good to deny it. It was so incredible.”
Obviously, the music of Deftones was a key element in how Circa Survive evolved, too. When asked about how the White Pony album influenced his own creative development, Green responded:
“The fundamental core of that record … changed the way I thought about heavy music as something that needs to be overtly aggressive. It differentiated aggressiveness and delicate atmospheric melody — and that is literally the foundation of every band I’ve ever been a part of. From Saosin and Sound of Animals, Circa … There’s Circa songs … that I feel like you could hear a direct influence from White Pony. There’s a song called “Phantom” [from 2014’s Descensus] we wrote that I definitely feel like I was channeling Chino.bDude, I’ve kinda ripped him off for so long. [Laughs] I’ve gotten away with it for one reason or another, but I’ve ripped him off in every way possible. I’ve watched him move onstage and done stuff later at shows where I’m like, This is kinda how he was moving. [Laughs] There was a song that he and I sang together called “Right Outside” that I literally wrote after I listened to the Crosses song “This Is a Trick.”‘
Of particular note, Chino Moreno also contributed guest vocals on Anthony Green’s solo record Beautiful Things, which really brought the influence full circle. Here’s hoping they get together again someday.
