Reviews list for Dillinger Escape Plan, The - Ire Works (2007)

The Dillinger Escape Plan have helped influence the metal/hardcore scene with their 1999 debut Calculating Infinity, though a couple bands like Daughters and The End kept their own mathcore sound for a couple albums before saying "Phuket!" and switching to something more...rock. While Dillinger's debut is known for all those crazy time signatures, riffs, and solos, those guys keep broadening their sound. Extreme metal fans love the technical dexterity but it won't be easy for them to get used to a more accessible turn. Accepting sudden changes can be a total challenge, but those changes get bolder each time. Their EP Irony is a Dead Scene has the famous Mike Patton on lead vocals, showing off his skills on 3 original songs and a cover of "Come to Daddy" by Aphex Twin. Their 2004 album Miss Machine balances the chaotic force of their debut with a couple streamlined melodic tracks, thanks to vocalist Greg Puciato. Then there's another EP, Plagiarism, that "plagiarizes" 4 popular songs.

With all those incredible moments and stylistic changes, Ire Works continues the awesome mathcore chaos. And we're all lucky that this album even made it. The band had a reputation of bizarre misfortunes over the years, a couple of which were lineup changes that happened sometime before the band was ready to record this album. Guitarist Brian Benoit left the band due to his left hand being injured in the nerve as a result from brachial plexus neuritis, then drummer Chris Pennie left to join Coheed and Cambria, just a few days before recording started. That meant that the band's founding guitarist Ben Weinman had to do all guitars on the album, but at least they got new drummer Gil Sharone (from avant-garde metal band Stolen Babies). Vocalist Greg Puciato and bassist Liam Wilson still got on board and are ready to really outdo their sound.

The brutal opening track "Fix Your Face" commences the second album in a row to start with a bang, an intense opener of destructive perfection with guest vocals by original vocalist Dimitri Minakakis. "Lurch" continues the chaotic rhythm-changes and jazz underlines. Those two songs both make a killer album opening! However, "Black Bubblegum" is a big surprise for long-time listeners. It's basically a more agitated Fall Out Boy gone Faith No More, a dark pop-core song with vocals switching between snarly singing and haunting falsetto. "Sick on Sunday" is also more experimental, basically heavy breakbeat electro-grind.

"When Acting As a Particle" is an interlude that starts with Gamelan-like percussion with suspenseful strings before the guitars start building up. "Nong Eye Gong" is a brutal vitriolic short grind song with more of Puciato's seething screams that makes up for those previous 3 mellow tracks. "When Acting As a Wave" is a great groovy instrumental that sounds like something 65daysofstatic wish they had done. The band's manic mathcore evolution continues in "82588" that could've worked better in Miss Machine.

Another experimental offering comes in with "Milk Lizard" that sounds almost like a tribute to the Jesus Lizard with Puciato easily pushing David Yow off the hardcore vocal throne. The song is just filled with guitar-wrath over trumpets and an out-of-nowhere piano motif. "Party Smasher" continues the typical time-changes worth moshing as another nice break from the experimentation. "Dead as History" starts with some static noises before beginning some cool riffing and chord progressions that almost come out as a Coheed and Cambria song. Perhaps it's a nice tribute to Chris Pennie leaving Dillinger for Coheed and Cambria, though some of the heavier listeners might hate it. The album's last two tracks are also amazing, starting with "Horse Hunter", first starting with the usual TDEP mathcore before going into their Zappa influences, more furious groove, spacey synths, and guest vocals by Mastodon's Brent Hinds. The moody "Mouth of Ghosts" is probably the longest TDEP song at almost 7 minutes. After 4 minutes of mellow jazz piano, things start building up before the guitars enter one last time in an almost theatrical conclusion.

At this point, The Dillinger Escape Plan is no longer just strictly obsessive mathcore and has accepted this eclectic new direction. Are you in or are you out? If you accuse them, go find some other band like Psyopus. Some of us prefer to appreciate the band's true talent in the most thrilling album of their career. Well played, Dillinger!

Favorites: Fix Your Face, Black Bubblegum, Sick on Sunday, Milk Lizard, Dead as History