Dillinger Escape Plan is the weirdest, most chaotic band that I've ever heard. I hate hardcore metal, but after what people here on the forums had to say about this disc, I decided to pick it up. To me, the biggest problem with the cd is it's length. Under 40 minutes? wtf? I didn't pay 15 bucks for a little over half an hour of music. The quality of this music, however, makes up for any length issues. It sounds random, like complete, unrelenting chaos at first. I had to listen to it alot to actually find any music, but once you realize the kind of rhythms and whatnot that they use, it's amazing. Very technical playing, but not blatantly obvious technicality. Each of these songs is rather short, but manages to pack in more variety, raw talent, and time changes than alot of bands have in their whole careers. That being said.....
1. Sugar Coated Sour: It starts off with what Nacho described as "Carnival-like Beeping". It's actually a very,
very fast guitar lick. It's a whole string of notes that sounds like one, insane. Almost immediately, the barrage starts. The music is loud, brutal, and unrelenting from about 4 seconds in. After awhile, it calms down for a moment, and you think you're in for a break from the insanity....WRONG. It just comes right back and tears your face off! This music gets me pumped for violence! RRAAAHH!!!!
5/5
2. 43% Burnt: This is my favorite song on the cd. It starts off with an unforgettable riff, and when the screaming begins, there is an undeniable groove there. guitar is insane once again, and the drummer is going mad. This is one of the few songs where I can actually understand the lyrics. The guitar only plays a few riffs, but changes time signatures and keys etc. so much that it sounds like a lot of different parts.
5/5
3. Jim Fear: Ok, this song grabs you right from the throat about a millisecond into it. The song actually has hooks, and it got stuck in my head the day I got this cd. Eventually there's a Beethoven-sounding part, then one of my favorite riffs of all time. It sounds like it's constantly changing, only it's always the same, the drummer just blows my mind.
5/5
4. *#..: Wierdest song title of all time. This starts off with a voice over an intercom, and you can tell right then that this is actually going to be a calm track. Who would guess? Actually, giong beyond calm, this is more of an ambience song than anything. the drummer does song repetitive symbal crashes, and the guitar steadily grows louder. Not heavy at all, but there is a definite feeling of unease.
4.5/5
5. Destro's Secret: This is chaos at its best! Insane is the only adjective I can think of to describe it. You have to hear it for yourself. Weirdness abounds.
4/5
6. The Running Board: Definitely has a very cool riff near the beginning. You can understand some lyrics here, which is very good. Eventually it goes into a calm, dark groove. Very cool.
5/5
7. Clip The Apex....Accept Instruction: This song is......intermittent. Best word I can think of here...it seems to not be very constant, but disjointed kind of....bah my description sucks. Listen to it yourself.
8. Calculating Infinity: This is instrumental. A very cool groovy thing is going on at the beginning, with the guitat/drums interplay. It's calm after that, and actually quite pretty. A nice reprieve.
5/5
9. 4th Grade Dropout: And after that break...back to the insanity. The vocals, guitar, and drums do the same thing here, while still doing rhythm...insane. The instruments repeat the same part for a while here, but it doesn't really get old.
4/5
10: Weekend Sex Change: This song starts out with very good, though slightly show-offy, drumming. The guitar is doing a calm, peaceful part...and then you take the plunge. A low piano note sends the listener into ambience land. They actually have strings here:eek: I was surprised by this song, it sounds so dark, so evil, so menacing, yet it doesn't have to be heavy and angry to do so.
5/5
11. Variations on a Cocktail Dress: The final song, and longest, at almost 8 minutes. To be honest, by this point the insanity was getting a bit boring. They should try making more soft, ambient songs on their albums, they're quite good at it.
4/5
Overrall, this is the only hardkore I like. I was surprised by its goodness, and continue to rock out to its sweet jams:thumb:
4.5/5
