Album of the Week #19: The Dillinger Escape Plan - Calculating Infinity
This is Album of the Week #20 ~ This week's album is The Dillinger Escape Plan - Calculating Infinity
Year of Release: 1999
Genre(s): Mathcore
Country: United States
Length: 37 minutes
RYM | Listen!
Excerpt from Sputnik Music:
Wanna know why it all works? Because the insane technicality and the angular “prog-meets-punk” riffing ensure that each emotional catharsis is earned. The Dillinger Escape Plan somehow have the ability to turn technical prowess into atmosphere, weaving in and out of disturbing musical passages; Dimitri is simply icing on the cake with the chaos he spews over it all. But each emotional release works because the band members are incredibly skilled at building us up to those moments. Much like Converge’s Jane Doe, there’s a respect and care that’s given to each weird transition and tempo shift despite the hell being unleashed on top of the songwriting.
Discussion points:
Have you heard this artist/album before? Is this your first time hearing?
Do you enjoy this genre? Is this an album you would have chosen?
Does this album remind you of something you've heard before?
What were the album's strengths or weaknesses?
Was there a standout track for you?
How did you hear the album? Where were you? What was your setup?
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I've heard of Dillinger Escape Plan, but never actually listened to any of their music before, or any other mathcore before either. I really dig it. It's basically math rock-esque in terms of it instrumentals, but the metalcore version, complete with the expected screaming vocals. I don't really know what else to say other than it got me super pumped and amped up... which is exactly what you want from this kind of music!
My favorite track was *#.. which also had a very prog metal feel to it. The title track, Calculating Infinity, was also pretty cool too. I just wish both tracks had gone on longer! Although, ironically, the longest track, Variations on a Cocktail Dress, was actually my least favorite despite the awesome track name. I really hate when the final track on an album has a long stretch of silence before finishing off completely differently. It makes putting them in playlists a PITA! :(
The way you phrased that last sentence makes me think that some once-common knowledge may be getting lost to the sands of time.
In the days of CDs there was a type of Easter egg called a "hidden track" which originated in vinyl but I'm not going to get into that kind of detail. There are multiple ways it's done, the most common being a period of silence after the last track on an album before some bonus material (usually a short song). When you put a CD in a player you'd see the total number of tracks, so this method obfuscstes things. In the case of this album, that last track is actually a two-minute song. If you wanted that song on a mix in 1999, it's very likely you'd have been using cassettes and would just stop when the actual song ended.
Other ways the hidden track is done:
Nah, I'm old enough to have actually grown up with cassettes, and am aware of what hidden tracks are. I just worded that sentence kinda weirdly. But IMO the ones with X minutes of silence before they start playing were annoying back then (had to fast forward to listen to them), and they're even more annoying now for a different reason. I don't want 4 minutes of silence in the middle of a playlist! Just make it separate file/track, ya wankers, so I don't have to manually crop them first! :P
I figured I had 50/50 odds and posted anyway in case some younger folks don't have the context.
I wonder how stuff like this is handled on streaming platforms. Do they leave the silence in or is there a different version of the album?
No worries. It's still good info for anyone that doesn't know what hidden tracks are/were, or how they were done back in the day. So your comment is still a totally worthwhile contribution. :)
I can't speak for every platform but at least on YouTube Music, which I use now, and Spotify (which I used to use), they typically just leave the silence, combining the final tracks, and don't separate out the hidden track in any way, which is why I find them so annoying for making playlists. :P
I was not expecting to find a post about Dillinger around here! As much as I love Hardcore and its sub-genres, I get that a lot of people really aren't into this type of music so I'm not shocked that there is little discussion on this one.
For me this whole album is tied to many memories of long gone friends, shows, parties, great nights, awful mornings, road trips and lost youth. From Calc, my favourite song has to be Jim Fear as it really hit me with the Grindcore vibe and is just all out chaos. That said, I have definitely listened to 43% Burnt way more because myself and a few friends are pushing front row in this ancient footage from Hellfest 2002.
As amazing as Calc is, and tonnes of DEP fans disagree with this statement but I think they were at their best with the release of Ire Works. It is unmistakably Dillinger but showcased their range and wasn't afraid to deviate from their established sound at times. It was fresh. It's simply impossible for me to hear Milk Lizard and not bob along in a goofy, exaggerated manner with a smile on my face.
I agree 100% about Ire Works. Way underrated - I think some people felt that Dillinger was starting to lose their sense of aggression, with poppy songs like Black Bubblegum/Milk Lizard or more atmospheric, introspective songs like Sick On Sunday/Dead as History/etc. But frankly the addition of those to the record gives it much more dimension, with lots of creepy and sinister vibes in addition to raw power, and on a full listen, the heavier songs sound even heavier by contrast. Fix Your Face and 82588 are some of the most brutal tracks they've ever put out. Personally, I think Option Paralysis is a slightly better album overall, but Ire Works may be a close second.
This is probably my favorite Dillinger Escape Plan record. I have no problem with how they evolved myself, but I don't listen to them often anymore, so when I do it's Calculating Infinity. The thing I enjoy most about the band is the mathy, fast, chaotic tempos interspersed with moments that sound more 'standard' and the contrast that creates and I do think that later releases that don't have the same aggression just feel like they're missing something. Depends on the track when it comes to later albums- and it's not like I dislike them really (all their records are executed extremely well) but Calculating Infinity has some moments I feel like they never reached again.