Cover songs generally fall under two categories. Either they take the original song and morph it into something completely different, where the band harnesses the song as their own (in the case of
Shai Halud’s cover of [i]Linoleum[i] by
NOFX, or on an album like the
NOFX/Rancid split), generally providing for a fun and worthwhile listen, or they play the song note for note like the original band performed it, and provide nothing but a lame imitation which generally is regarded as tripe. Regardless, the thought of grind/math/metal/whatever-core legends
The Dillinger Escape Plan, covering songs like
Like I Love You by
Justin Timberlake is almost a laughable idea. Well, suffice it to say they did it and with that we have the
Plagiarism EP; A record chalk full of cheesy covers, as well as a revamped version of a previously recorded song, and an intense live performance. While this certainly is not the place to start if you are looking to get into a band like DEP, it’s a fun record for what it is.
While
Plagiarism is supposed to be an EP full of covers, it actually contains 2 original tracks. One is the radio edit of
Unretrofied, which sounds like a face-owning mash up of
Sing the Sorrow-era
AFI with
The Downward Spiral. Singer Greg Puciato truly shines on this song, showcasing his immense vocal range when he goes from an eerie pop melody to a scream during the breakdown. Instrumentally, for Dillinger, this is quite a departure, featuring straight forward 4/4 timing (something rarely seen in any song by this band) and surprisingly restrained instrumentals. It has much more of an industrial vibe than the majority of DEP’s discography, but by no means is it a bad song. In fact, even people who generally hate the band could be attracted to this song because of its solid songwriting and poppier tendencies.
Closing the album is a live version of
The Perfect Design. In stark contrast to the other original song on this album, it’s typical Dillinger. Chaotic guitars, weird time signatures, so-technical-that-they-are-almost-arrhythmic drum blasts and extremely emotive roars from Puciato are in full effect here. Guitarists Ben Weinman and Brian Benoit are the center of attention here, providing grinding riffs when necessary and interrupting everything with a jazzy improv just for the sake of art. Drummer Chris Pennie sounds like he’s hitting his drums with the force of a sperm whale crashing into the ocean, providing an impressive performance. Kerrang!, probably the biggest abomination to modern music, calls Dillinger “The Best Live Band on the Planet”, which just goes to show how impressive this band obviously is live, and that intensity is very apparent on this recording.
Now the covers, which happen to be the main focus of the album, taking up four of the 6 tracks. Unfortunately, in terms of originality, every cover completely lacks it, being merely a carbon copy of the song. Thankfully, in the case of the case of
Wish, a
Nine Inch Nails cover, and
Jesus Christ Pose, a
Soundgarden cover, both of the original songs are so great, that a spot on cover is really what you would expect to hear. Dillinger thankfully delivers that and it makes for a fun listening experience, even with the slight embellishments, such as the guttural growling and underlying improv guitar solos in
Wish or the heavily overdriven and detuned guitars squelches in
Jesus Christ Pose.
Absolutely the two most unusual covers in the history of music are also contained on this album, featuring a cover of both
Angel, by trip-hop pioneers
Massive Attack, and
Like I Love You, the impossibly out of place pop single by former
N*Sync member Justin Timberlake. Funnily enough, the Timberlake cover actually works merely on the fun factor. Listening to Puciato hit Timberlake’s tenor almost perfectly is honestly a riot, and while I’m sure many Dillinger Fans are now out getting the “Greg Puciato is a flaming homo” tattoos, it doesn’t detract from how fun the song is. Unfortunately, the
Massive Attack cover is decidedly less so. It sounds more like a botched version of the original, with not even the fun factor being able to save it. It’s uninteresting, boring, sleazy, and just begs the question of “why bother?”
All in all, for what its worth,
Plagiarism is a fun EP. Like I said previously, it would probably be one of the worst starting points for someone looking to get into a band like
Dillinger Escape Plan, for anyone who is already a fan, it would be an excellent addition to your collection. And for anyone who enjoys just cheesy covers,
Like I Love You is probably one of the best covers known to man. It’s so gloriously cheesy that anyone could really enjoy it. Although many long time fans of
Dillinger Escape Plan look at this EP as something negative, or merely filler, its really just meant to be a fun collection of songs with maybe two songs that fans would actually like to add to their collection, and it accomplishes exactly that.
3.5/5
Recommended Tracks:
Unretrofied
Jesus Christ Pose
Like I Love You
