The Dillinger Escape Plan With Mike Patton
Irony Is a Dead Scene (EP)
1. Hollywood Squares
2. Pig Latin
3. When Good Dogs Do Bad Things
4. Come to Daddy
=====
When The Dillinger Escape Plan opened for Mr. Bungle in their US Tour, it was hailed as a celebration of the best experimental and innovative music of recent times. Mike Patton, arguably the most versatile and talented vocalist on the planet, is best known for his "Faith No More" side-project but Mr. Bungle have a huge cult following and The Dillinger Escape Plan's fanbase grows everyday, so when the best of both these bands decided to make an EP, it was every experimental metalhead's wet dream.
This EP is just 18 minutes of absolute orgasmic audio pleasure, containing three original songs and a sensational cover of the Aphex Twin classic "Come to Daddy" which is worth the price of admission alone. This EP needs a LOT of work, even compared to The Dillinger Escape Plan's regular chaotic math metal style, this is insane - I don't how they managed to fit so many genre's into 18 minutes and still remain true to DEP's style. It's quite clear that Mike Patton not only took charge of the vocal duty but also had a huge say in the music also, as his pattonted(ouch, pun alert) Mr. Bungle music style is quite evident here too.
To best describe the beginning of "Hollywood Squares", the EP's opener, would be the musical equivalent of being kicked in the testicles. Patton repeatedly and fericously screams and is matched by some hard and heavy guitarwork and speed drumming. It's chaos, interrupted only by one of the various token genre changes in which Patton will start rapping, sing melodically or just shout like a punk rocker on top of slightly less furious guitars and drumming, but the song will always revert back the chaotic style of the start.
The next song on the EP is probably the most accessible out of the 3 original works, with a catchy simple riff opening the song and the heaviest parts barely matching up to the soft parts of the other two songs. But that's not to say because it isn't as hard that it isn't as good, infact it's just as good perhaps even better than the other two songs due to the sheer mindbending genre shifts and vocal diversity shown by Patton. The increased technical ability of DEP can be heard quite brilliantly on this song as each instrument is clearly audible instead of drowning each other out like on the other songs.
The final original song on the album is by far my favourite of the EP, it is very much a combination of the best of the two previous songs whilst adding even more genre diversity. Patton mixes vocals from various genres of music with music which quite simply does not suit it, and this makes this track very hard to grasp for a long period of time - the beginning of it anyway. The genre mindfuck of the 2 minutes come to an abrupt halt when everything turns slow and quiet, and Patton does his best "paedophilic satan" impression with literally spine-chilling vocals on top of absolutely fantastic math metal drumming, although you have to listen hard for it. Then the peak of the album begins, in yet another vocal style(there must be around 50 in the new 3 songs alone) Patton builds each up verse up to the powerful chorus of screaming and wailing, it's the best showcase of Patton's vocal talents and the definition of why this is better than any other DEP release to date, topping the previous EP "Under the Running Board" for the title. Mike Patton's vocal diversity and general musical brilliance just makes you wish he was the normal singer of the band, and if you still aren't convinced the next song will set it in stone.
"Come To Daddy" was Aphex Twin's crack at having a hit single, quite unlike anything he had ever done the original version was a spine-tingling atmospheric IDM(Intelligent Dance Music) effort which genuinely struck fear into anyone who heard it, especially if you were watching the equally frightening video at the same time. Unfortunately, this cover fails to capture the atmospheric brilliance of the original version, but the change from electronica to 'normal' instruments is flawless, and exceeds the original version in every way, and once again Mike Patton's vocals make the difference between good song and "amazing" song - he captures perfectly the special effects laden vocals of the original. This will definitely be the song which will keep you coming back for more, which is essential in an album with so much technicallity and genre shifts that it's almost impossible to like instantly.
Fans of The Dillinger Escape Plan will not necessarily like this EP, although most of those who I have spoke to agree with my sentiments that this easily their best work yet, but the good thing is that those who do not like DEP's work without Patton might still like this. The only negative thing about this EP is that it's only 18 minutes long, but then again it makes it all the remarkeable that they have managed to fit so many brilliant ideas into such a small length of time.
This is definitely my favourite overall release of 2002, and I strongly recommend it to all metal fans - whether they like The Dillinger Escape Plan or not.
Rating: 10/10
Irony Is a Dead Scene (EP)
1. Hollywood Squares
2. Pig Latin
3. When Good Dogs Do Bad Things
4. Come to Daddy
=====
When The Dillinger Escape Plan opened for Mr. Bungle in their US Tour, it was hailed as a celebration of the best experimental and innovative music of recent times. Mike Patton, arguably the most versatile and talented vocalist on the planet, is best known for his "Faith No More" side-project but Mr. Bungle have a huge cult following and The Dillinger Escape Plan's fanbase grows everyday, so when the best of both these bands decided to make an EP, it was every experimental metalhead's wet dream.
This EP is just 18 minutes of absolute orgasmic audio pleasure, containing three original songs and a sensational cover of the Aphex Twin classic "Come to Daddy" which is worth the price of admission alone. This EP needs a LOT of work, even compared to The Dillinger Escape Plan's regular chaotic math metal style, this is insane - I don't how they managed to fit so many genre's into 18 minutes and still remain true to DEP's style. It's quite clear that Mike Patton not only took charge of the vocal duty but also had a huge say in the music also, as his pattonted(ouch, pun alert) Mr. Bungle music style is quite evident here too.
To best describe the beginning of "Hollywood Squares", the EP's opener, would be the musical equivalent of being kicked in the testicles. Patton repeatedly and fericously screams and is matched by some hard and heavy guitarwork and speed drumming. It's chaos, interrupted only by one of the various token genre changes in which Patton will start rapping, sing melodically or just shout like a punk rocker on top of slightly less furious guitars and drumming, but the song will always revert back the chaotic style of the start.
The next song on the EP is probably the most accessible out of the 3 original works, with a catchy simple riff opening the song and the heaviest parts barely matching up to the soft parts of the other two songs. But that's not to say because it isn't as hard that it isn't as good, infact it's just as good perhaps even better than the other two songs due to the sheer mindbending genre shifts and vocal diversity shown by Patton. The increased technical ability of DEP can be heard quite brilliantly on this song as each instrument is clearly audible instead of drowning each other out like on the other songs.
The final original song on the album is by far my favourite of the EP, it is very much a combination of the best of the two previous songs whilst adding even more genre diversity. Patton mixes vocals from various genres of music with music which quite simply does not suit it, and this makes this track very hard to grasp for a long period of time - the beginning of it anyway. The genre mindfuck of the 2 minutes come to an abrupt halt when everything turns slow and quiet, and Patton does his best "paedophilic satan" impression with literally spine-chilling vocals on top of absolutely fantastic math metal drumming, although you have to listen hard for it. Then the peak of the album begins, in yet another vocal style(there must be around 50 in the new 3 songs alone) Patton builds each up verse up to the powerful chorus of screaming and wailing, it's the best showcase of Patton's vocal talents and the definition of why this is better than any other DEP release to date, topping the previous EP "Under the Running Board" for the title. Mike Patton's vocal diversity and general musical brilliance just makes you wish he was the normal singer of the band, and if you still aren't convinced the next song will set it in stone.
"Come To Daddy" was Aphex Twin's crack at having a hit single, quite unlike anything he had ever done the original version was a spine-tingling atmospheric IDM(Intelligent Dance Music) effort which genuinely struck fear into anyone who heard it, especially if you were watching the equally frightening video at the same time. Unfortunately, this cover fails to capture the atmospheric brilliance of the original version, but the change from electronica to 'normal' instruments is flawless, and exceeds the original version in every way, and once again Mike Patton's vocals make the difference between good song and "amazing" song - he captures perfectly the special effects laden vocals of the original. This will definitely be the song which will keep you coming back for more, which is essential in an album with so much technicallity and genre shifts that it's almost impossible to like instantly.
Fans of The Dillinger Escape Plan will not necessarily like this EP, although most of those who I have spoke to agree with my sentiments that this easily their best work yet, but the good thing is that those who do not like DEP's work without Patton might still like this. The only negative thing about this EP is that it's only 18 minutes long, but then again it makes it all the remarkeable that they have managed to fit so many brilliant ideas into such a small length of time.
This is definitely my favourite overall release of 2002, and I strongly recommend it to all metal fans - whether they like The Dillinger Escape Plan or not.
Rating: 10/10
