Dillinger Escape Plan

by Jasmin "Jerkmin" Nawaz

Dillinger Escape Plan has been producing uncompromising metal for more than a decade. Renowned for their wild, energetic live shows and the ingenuity of their output, they are a band that has been labelled as punk jazz and math core (whatever that means).

If I'm being honest, the first time I heard DEP I just heard noise and lots of it. I wasn't even sure if I liked it yet the more I listened, the more I wanted to listen. They seamlessly combine melody and brutality through wonderfully haphazard arrangements. They are surely one of the most interesting and original bands around.

Black Bubblegum - Dillinger Escape Plan

Brittle and sharp, 1999's Calculating Infinity is one of the most influential metal albums ever made. The tracks are heavy, ambitious compositions, punctuated with rapid-fire drum beats and infested with intricate technicalities that beat the senses into submission. Although it's still a mammoth sized dose of aural punishment, their subsequent output has jolted through genres without losing atmosphere or impact.

2004's Miss Machine may have lost the sheer brutality of its predecessor but nevertheless, it marked an impressive step forward in the evolution of the band - not least because it was their first release with their current frontman Greg Puciato-but also because it seeped into the mainstream.

Ire Works (2007), their 3rd full-length studio album is perhaps their most accomplished yet. It is their most successful critical and commercial release to date and proves the old adage that new doors open whenever old ones slam shut. I discovered it a the end of last year and have been living inside it ever since.

Ire works is teeming with diversity, lunging from the frantic schizoid sound of 'Sick on Sunday' to the dark instrumental pieces 'When acting as part of a wave'. The album boldly opens in the traditional DEP style with 'Fix Your Face' featuring former vocalist Dimitri Minakakis, and 'Lurch' and finishes with the muted, comfortable sounds of the Mouth of Ghosts.

What marks this album out as something special is the fact that the band can deliver a damn good tune without surrendering any of the technical wizardry. Ire Works is musical insanity, without doubt, a masterpiece of creativity. This band is completely unafraid of flirting with a new genre and making it their own, just listen to 'Black Bubblegum' and 'Milk Lizard'.

'Black Bubblegum' is simply stunning; an impossibly catchy, sexy pop-infused metal number. Aggressive yet accessible, it crams both sing-along verses and crazed, discordant riffs into its four-minute frame.

'Milk Lizard' will beat your speakers into oblivion with its pulverising vocals and flourishes of piano and brass amongst jaw-dropping fret-work. It's the audio equivalent of a comic book fight scene. Absorbing. Chaotic, Infectious.

DEP are a band that everyone should hear at least once in their lifetime. Their fourth album, Option Paralysis, is due for release in early 2010. Be excited.

• Official DEP Myspace: www.myspace.com/dillingerescapeplan
• For all your DEP news needs: www.spreadinglikewings.com

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