Dillinger Escape Plan

Understanding Infinity

BY Chris GramlichPublished Nov 17, 2016

The Dillinger Escape Plan is one of the new breed of musical terrorists, a band whose energy, innovation and proficiency transcends both their recordings and their live shows, making them one of the most influential and most scrutinised bands in the noiscore, metal and hardcore scenes. Not content to stick with what brought them to the dance, their debut full-length Calculating Infinity (on Relapse) continues to utilise the same awe-inspiring technical ability, hardcore-derived anger and death metal meets jazz/fusion riffs, taking it farther and faster in different directions. Overwhelming is just not a strong enough word, but when you are redefining musical boundaries and basically inventing your own genre, there is bound to be resistance, misunderstanding and downright hatred.

"Some people probably think that the Dillinger Escape Plan is just harsh, complex, noise," comments guitarist Ben. "They don't like it, I guess because we listen to such technical music, or crazy stuff, that we have to go a bit off the wall and some people may not be into it, they may be nauseated, and that's just fine. The main importance over technicality, over anything really is just energy and emotion, as long as we keep the energy and emotion in our music I think anything else doesn't matter."

While there is no disputing the emotion and energy of Dillinger's music, at times it can be so sever and so extreme that it turns into white noise, inseparable from one emotional or musical context to the next.

"I think there is definitely something to say for the extremity in the Dillinger Escape Plan. We definitely push the limits and if you push the limits you are bound to get noticed, whether you're a crazy DJ or a new kind of comedian. As long as your pushing the limits, people will listen."



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