Brown Town Reviews:
One Of Us Is The Killer // The Dillinger Escape Plan
Now I have a lot to thank this album for, but maybe another time guys.(nudge nudge)
These masters of sound have been blasting out bat-shit crazy yet broadly familiar tones for a long time, over 10 years of magic in fact.
This album shows influence all over the place, which can most of the time, leave you out of it, slipping into a void of… something.
At the same time, “One of Us is the Killer” brings dissonance into harmony, not an easy feat to accomplish in music when you have such crushing technicality at the same time.
I hear influences such as NIN, Faith No More, Mastodon, Korn… you know… I won’t leave you hanging but I hear ALOT of originality as well, from what I understand all the band knows the ins and outs of sound completely.
The lead guitarist and only original member, Benjamin Weinman is a composer and extreme tonal freak, his presence is well known in the heavy music industry even after so many years of hate being put onto DEP for being “Too Extreme”.
If you think this band is too extreme I would tell you to sleep it off, princess, because this is REAL. FUCKING. MUSIC.
The Album blows up with the opening track Prancer, setting down the law that these guys are pissed, and they’ve been pissed off long enough, so it’s time to for them to play with your psyche.
(1:07-1:21 is my jam, son!)
Things don’t simmer down at all with the second track, When I lost My Bet. The song opens up with a jazz like groove with chaotic chords being hurled at your face at light-speed.
A strong half spoken-word section grabs my attention (0:48-1:10) , gets me pumped and ready for my next mission of the day/night.
Dillinger slow it down on the third and probably the best track of the album, aptly named One of Us is the Killer, and like a shot from the wrong type of needle they send you sinking into nothing.
The song has incredibly evil, nightmarish string work, but stunningly beautiful vocal work by Greg Puciato, many a time I’ve blared this and sung to it, it’s catchy.
Chaos reigns again with the fourth track Hero of the Soviet Union. Spastic rhythms await the listener, with playful vocal harmonies playing around in the mix. Would recommend listening to (1:25-2:42) as it plays on a powerful message… just kidding.
Still kick-ass though.
Nothing’s Funny is track five, and my second favourite off the whole album, with one hell of a catchy chorus and an almost seemingly perfect song structure.
Understanding Decay is up next, with an industrial, electronic, drum and bass rhythm, whilst the drummer Billy Rhymer fiddles around on the ride cymbal of his surprisingly small, yet sophisticated drum set up, three minutes into this song, towards the end, things get a little bit creepy, just warning you.
Track Seven, Paranoia Shields, has a very aggressive old school hardcore feel, but slips in between the dark eeriness of a Mr. Bungle vibe and once again, I’m blown away by Greg’s vocals. He manages to perfectly transition between the voice of a siren, straight from the sea, and a leviathan, rising from the ground, great song.
The next song is an instrumental, named CH 375 268 277 ARS.
Breaking into a flash of hot sweat, the next song Magic That I Held You Prisoner, shows of the bands ability to magnify fractal patterns and how they travel further to create something larger, but beautiful. (1:51-2:31) is the best part of the song from my ears perspective.
Crossburner, opens up very stoner-esque, with a creeping bass line coming from the phat strings of Liam Wilson’s’ bass guitar, and the bass likes to own this song. The song is dominated by a slow groove, but picks up at times to drop you right back down again. Hits home for me.
The final track, The Threat Posed By Nuclear Weapons, is pretty face melting and the pan of the mix is a little off-throwing, but hey, it’s what they do best.
A very dreary, lucid guitar riff will stick with you, be warned, this album is full of shit that will get you hooked on chaos.
This band is a go-to band when you want to scream away your worries into a pillow, and not let the world get what it wants out of you.
Now, It’s plugging time, the reason I chose this band and album as my first review, is because THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN will be coming to our eastern shores in August.
Australian Tour Dates
Friday, 28th August
Prince Bandroom, Melbourne (18+)
Tickets: Oztix
Saturday, 29th August
Max Watts, Sydney (18+)
Tickets: Oztix / Maxwatts / Eventopia
Sunday, 30th August
Max Watts, Brisbane (18+)
Tickets: Oztix / Maxwatts / Eventopia
Go out and see this band and I guarantee you will come back home much more Zen’d out, unless you’re a schitz or something… 🙂
