The Dillinger Escape Plan:
Greg Puciato - Vocals
Ben Weinman - Guitar
Brian Benoit - Guitar
Adam Doll - Bass
Chris Pennie - Drums
After The Dillinger Escape Plan's first major label release,
Calculating Infinity, many fans of the band were disappointed to hear singer Dimitri Minakakis had parted ways with the band. Moving in a different direction, Dillinger collaborated with the highly prolific and experimental vocalist Mike Patton on the
Irony Is A Dead Scene EP , while at the same time posting a no-vocals version of "43% Burnt" on their website and accepting recordings in order to find a new singer. Dillinger's fanbase took another hit from the experiment, with many saying that they had lost their roots and were becoming mainstream.
With
Miss Machine, it would seem Dillinger isn't bothered by the absence of loyalty from much of their fanbase, and are in fact moving to alienate many of their original fans. This album is more accessable than anything DEP has done before, even though it is still far from what you would hear on the radio.
Greg Puciato fills in as the band's vocalist and is a welcome addition; he's just as willing to use his wide array of screeching and screaming as he is to break out in singing, and he excels at both. The lyrics are arguably better than the ones found on
Infinity, especially on tracks like "Panasonic Youth" and "Phone Home". Some moments are a bit cheesy (notably parts of "Unretrofied"), but they're not anywhere near pop-band proportions. He also has a tendency to sound a lot like Mike Patton in sections ("Phone Home"), which I personally enjoy and welcome.
There are many mainstream moments on this album. "Unretrofied" and "Phone Home" are notably more laid-back than the usual blastbeats and grind, and there are more various breaks and soft sections. The grind and offbeat time signatures are still readily apparent, however, especially in "Sunshine The Werewolf" and "The Perfect Design". Most of
Machine is an amalgamation, though, with "Baby's First Coffin" and "We Are The Storm" mashing together the relaxed and abrasive perfectly.
Also, I got a limited edition DVD with this album. I was mildly dissappointed that the video for "Panasonic Youth" wasn't on it, but the sheer amount of live videos made up for it. It includes a "Making Of" piece and basically a catalogue of live songs from every moment in their discography, performed by the current band roster. Not bad.
While DEP has embraced writing more melodious music, they are nonetheless resolute in maintaining their style. Some may be put off, but it is simply the nature of the music - Dillinger makes offbeat grindcore at it's best, and on this album, they somehow manage to complicate the formula even more. It may not beat the highlight,
Calculating Infinity, but it is really a different record altogether, by a much more mature band.
Recommended Tracks: "Panasonic Youth", "Van Damsel", "Phone Home", "We Are The Storm", "Baby's First Coffin"
Overall Rating: 4/5
