The Dillinger Escape Plan are goddamn terrifying... and terrific

Dillinger have been one of my favorite bands ever since I first heard “Calculating Infinity”. I distinctly recall a spasm-inducing epiphany. Since then they’ve changed a fair amount: guitar virtuoso Ben Weinman is the only remaining original member of the band and their music, though firmly rooted in math-metal and avant-garde metal, has known some pretty wacky stylistic mutations.

10 years on, I remain an avid listener of their albums, which have been consistently gripping and thrilling in a world of Metal gone bland. I remained skeptical however as to their ability to maintain their dense, technically-intensive sound in a live context, whilst maintaining their reputation for physical debauchery and complete disregard for their health and safety.

This was all I could think about until Rolo Tomassi kindly reminded me that you definitely can tear shit up on stage and sound bloody sweet. These guys are becoming a model for how progressive hardcore should be done. And Eva Spence still makes me shiver all over. But really it was just a matter of buying time.

The lights go out, a burst of electronic noise announces a trend for the night: a lot of jumping, a lot of moshing and wild stage dives/belly beatings. The second the band entered the entire room burst into a fit of rage and utter bliss. Opening with “Farewell, Mona Lisa”, the intensely violent and cathartic first track from this year’s masterpiece Option Paralysis, they spent the entire show hitting all the right buttons and giving everyone there freaky fangasms. New fan favorites “Black Bubblegum” and “Milk Lizard” got all the sweaty metalheads crooning along like a room of horny Tom Joneses, and they dropped just the right amount of old classics, including pitch-perfect renditions of “43% Burnt” and “Sugar Coated Sour”.

Their technical prowess is unquestionable, and even past their 30s they deliver their material with an energy that would leave most performers breathless. Greg Puciato possesses an incredible vocal range comparable to Mike Patton’s and his comedic interaction with the crowd (“Don’t make me come down there and beat you myself!”) kept everyone smiling and kicking the shit out of the dude to the left. All in all it was a brilliant performance, made only more intense by the brilliant combination of strobe lights and bulbs hanging from the stage. Without a doubt, Dillinger is a barrel of fun for the whole family. Giant circle pit included.