Throughout White Pony, vocalist Chino Moreno provided the perfect combination of strength and vulnerability, the band’s late-bassist Chi Cheng offered a solid bottom that adhered to the guitar melodies and drummer Abe Cunningham delivered an array of precision beats that range from frantic and furious to moody and ethereal.īut as much as Moreno’s vocals, it's Carpenter’s guitar playing that gave the band’s music its innovative punch. Whenever there’s a new Meshuggah album coming out, I, like, count the days.” They inspire me to aspire for the best I can do whether it’s heavy or melodic.

“But their music is really intelligent, too and it’s like the answer to everything I want to hear when I listen to music.

“Through all these years, I’ve been waiting to hear someone that does something more pummeling, and it’s just not coming,” Carpenter said. In some ways, the intense angst and vocal range on the album predated emo, while the crushing guitar parts revealed guitarist Stephen Carpenter’s fascination with Meshuggah, a band he had had recently discovered and which continues to inspire his songwriting.

Deftones albums by year