Read Jon’s interview with Ben Weinman.
The Dillinger Escape Plan, who have formed a large fan base because of their unique music, are set to release their fifth album via Party Smasher / Sumerian to the masses which will no doubt be devoured happily. I have always been a fan of them ever since hearing Miss Machine and being entranced by their tendency to be edging towards the mathcore, a genre featuring complex and unique time signatures.
One of Us is the Killer is released following two strong singles. “Prancer” was released via digital outlets on March 12, whilst the first music video “When I Lost My Bet” featured mannequins blowing up and a few mysterious scenes with blood. It was fair to say that the two songs did their job — they hyped up the album for its release. No doubt then that my own expectations were hyped up as well.
Listening to this it’s clear to say that One of Us is the Killer will be another chapter in the books for Dillinger. Whilst Greg Puciato’s vocals are the most important part of Dillinger for me, he’s also backed up by some amazing musicians as well: Billy Rymer on drums; Liam Wilson on bass and the last remaining founding member Ben Weinman on lead guitar / programming / backing vocals / keys.
The album starts off with aforementioned single “Prancer” a burst of noise followed by a catchy groovy sections and then jumping back into the adrenaline-fulled passages. “When I Lost My Bet” is a Jazz-sounding song with the odd burst of noise here and there, featuring a catchy chorus. The title-track “One of us Is the Killer” is really soft for three-quarters of the song, only opening up for the chorus, but then for the last quarter it really just explodes into life. “Nothing’s Funny” has a great opening passage of music, but then quietens down for the verse with only the bass, drums and vocals, and when the guitar jumps back in suddenly it’s really heavy.
As I sat through my first listen of the record there are things which caught my ear and there are other things I missed, but overall I love the complexity of the music — with Dillinger, you don’t always know what you are going to get with every release. I was really drawn into the record from the first few notes right until the last. Like I said I’ve been a long-time fan, waiting for this album with anxious and excited hopes. The production is fantastic: it helps when the production / mixing can help pick out all the little nuances of the music and then make the bigger and heavier moments seem that much more epic. I love how the album flows and with the random softer moments followed by bursts of rawness and sound.
In my opinion, I think that this could be Dillinger’s best offering to date. They seem to be much akin to fine wine, in that they get better with age, One of Us…is really a solid album. Dillinger don’t seem to miss a beat and they attack the senses in every possibly way. Truly something to behold.
There is so much musical density in this, it’s just…amazing. When I heard the first two aforementioned singles I was a little bit unsure, yeah they hyped up my expectations a little, but 2013 is becoming somewhat cramped now with so many good releases. Safe to say that all bets are off and Dillinger’s release is yet another solid, mind-boggling, headache-inducing album, and I’m extremely happily with the end result. Highly recommended — with attached health warnings.
RATING: 4 / 5
Purchase One of Us is the Killer:
iTunes at: http://bit.ly/DEP-iTunes
Google Play at: http://bit.ly/14iT16h
Amazon MP3 at: http://amzn.to/19lChMr