Reviews

CD review: THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, Option Paralysis

By Ben Apatoff

According to founding guitarist BEN WEINMAN, the title of THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN's new album means "being in a situation where you have so many choices you can’t decide, and end up being frozen." It sounds like the kind of curse that plenty of headbangers wish on DEP every time they make a record that isn't Calculating Infinity.

For a band that people supposedly appreciate for pushing boundaries, every hint of tunefulness (or really anything that doesn't sound like a drill going through your eardrums) that the band explores gets hit with gripes about going soft. This phenomena won't stop with Option Paralysis–the short noisecore blasts of Ire Works have been traded for more structured songs, and all ten tracks are balanced by melodic exchanges and clean singing. Your loss, kvltists, because Option Paralysis is an awesomely dark, weird and aggressive record that every metalhead should be listening to this month. (more…)