10 Perfect Hard Rock Albums Of The 2000s

In the years that have passed, the phrase nu metal has become a bit of a dirty word in some circles. As much as it might have been cathartic listening to your old Korn records back in the day, it's best not to think about the more embarrassing things that you did along the way as well. When looking back on White Pony though, there's absolutely nothing to be ashamed of here.

With the bonus track edition with Back to School notwithstanding, Deftones created a piece of dark bliss on this album, toeing the line between the sounds of harsh metal and a lot more atmospheric tracks as well. Since most of the band have fessed up to being high on drugs while writing a lot of these songs, the seedy feel of these songs is that much more potent, especially when dipping into the singles like Change.

By all intents and purposes, this is a nu metal album in name only, since the sounds and moods of songs like Digital Bath find their way into the world of shoegaze and goth rock thanks to Frank Delgado's turntable work. Along with tracks like Knife Party and Passenger, this is more than just your standard hard rock album. This is the kind of record that you might walk away with a handful of bruises towards the end.