Gamma Ray Burst to the Face

The Dillinger Escape Plan -- Ire Works
For a band who are praised for its unpredictable nature, and don't-give-a-fuck attitude, DEP sure do seem to attract a lot of negative attention for being unpredictable and not giving a fuck. "Why don't they make another Calculating Infinity?" cries the Dillinger "faithful," and like a band concerned only with making only the most intense, relevant music they humanly can, DEP soldier on, following their own muse and blowing the doors off expectations (unless that expectation is the same album over and over again).

Accurately describing a Dillinger record is difficult, but for those who have never heard the group (are you out there?), I'll do my best: A huge variety of tones playing a huge variety melodies and textures, performed by men as violently and emotionally as possible spanning speeds ranging from "headspinningly breakneak" to "atmospherically slow." How else to describe an album that encompasses such technical barnstormers as "Fix Your Face" and "Lurch" as well as melodic, catchy, but equally complex compositions like "Black Bubblegum" and the simply outstanding "Milk Lizard"? How else to reconcile the hyperspeed blur of Calculating with the oddball electronics of Irony is a Dead Scene? These guys have fucking talent - regardless of who happens to be in the line-up

So is it any good? For the all the talk about selling out and the gossip and the petty bullshit, there is only one relevant question about Ire Works: Does it deliver the goods? The answer is a resounding "YES."