The Dillinger Escape Plan with Mike Patton
Irony is a Dead Scene
Epitaph
Holy shit! As if The Dillinger Escape Plan wasn’t already the most insane, hyper-metallic avant post-hardcore band around, now they have the equally mad Mike Patton on board for a few guest performances. The result, as you would have guessed, is plain brilliance, a frantic and sick masterpiece. At just under 20 minutes, The Escape Plan still cram more time-signatures and mood swings into the four songs on here than most bands can manage in a life span. Mike Patton has only grown weirder since his defining years with Faith No More and Mr. Bungle, and these recordings are a natural extension of his latter work with Fantomas and on his solo albums, not to mention his connections with Kid 606, Lesser, and several equally frantic electro-punks.
Taking in everything from trash to grindcore, from avant rock to early hardcore, from twisted lap-top to brutal prog, this EP is an unstoppable chaos of forward-moving insanity and spastic movements. The astounding “When Good Dogs Do Bad Things” is the centerpiece, a volatile track that moves form grind to a hypnotically floating track and right back again. “In this crowded place I could swing a cat / And not even hit a soul / It’s just the lonely vacuum of human black souls,” Patton croons in a warning whisper, before unleashing a new series of anguished death metal screaming: “I’m the best you will ever have!” Invigorating and refreshing, this is one of Patton’s top moments on tape ever, which is saying a lot, and the final, utterly convincing proof that The Dillinger Escape Plan is one of the most exciting and original acts out there today. Majestic.
Epitaph Records: http://www.epitaph.com
