September 2022 Feature Release - The Revolution Edition

So just like that we find that a new month is upon us which of course means that we’ll be nominating a brand new monthly feature release for each clan. This essentially means that we’re asking you to rate, review & discuss our chosen features for no other reason than because we enjoy the process & banter. We’re really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on our chosen releases so don’t be shy.

This month's feature release for The Revolution, nominated by me (Shadowdoom9 (Andi)), is the 2002 EP by New Jersey-based mathcore masters The Dillinger Escape Plan in collaboration with the legendary Faith No More vocalist Mike Patton, Irony is a Dead Scene. Ever since I was recommended giving the EP a review two years ago, it has grown on me time after time to the point where it became one of my favorite releases from that band. I definitely would like to see Irony is a Dead Scene get more attention from the other Metal Academy members, especially those who wanna hear vocals from the one and only Mike Patton.

https://metal.academy/releases/1746

I did my review, here's its summary:

While on the search for a suitable replacement for previous vocalist Dimitri Minakakis, The Dillinger Escape Plan came across Mike Patton who was touring with Mr. Bungle. He must've been such a big fan of TDEP's Calculating Infinity that he was interested in joining in some sort of record of theirs. Having been some time since their last album and this is THE Mike Patton, the band agreed and put their vocalist search on hold. It's pretty interesting that one of the craziest bands team up one of the craziest vocalists to create a super crazily awesome EP. You get to hear the usual chaos in the instrumentation during the first 3 tracks, here with Patton displaying his massive vocal range from whispering to singing to screaming, all over the place. Then the final 4th track is an Aphex Twin cover. Dillinger truly has a chaotic insane sound of noise-mathcore. With this release, they seem to shine the spotlight further away from themselves onto Patton, the main star, though their musical creativity is still in this EP, hinting at what was to come next in Miss Machine. While not having the same level of insanity as Calculating Infinity, this EP takes and refines every aspect of that album. Dillinger had learnt some great tricks from this EP, and that's why Miss Machine would be worth the wait!

5/5

Recommended tracks: "Pig Latin", "When Good Dogs Do Bad Things"

For fans of: Faith No More, Converge, Daughters

I've always enjoyed this little collaboration between two of the more highly regarded names in metal. The usual Dillinger intensity is somewhat off-set by the avant-garde experi(mental) stylings of Patton which makes for some really interesting listening as you never quite know what to expect next. In fact, I was surprised to discover that Patton's influence has extended far further than I would have thought likely as you could be forgiven for thinking this was a Mr. Bungle record during certain sections. The Aphex Twin cover version was a nice surprise too although it doesn't quite match the original for twisted scare-factor. "Irony Is A Dead Scene" is a unique alternative for fans of either artist & should satisfy those who enjoy Converge, Mr. Bungle & Car Bomb.

4/5