The Dillinger Escape Plan, formed in New Jersey around 1991, is one of the most talented bands of grindcore. Their rage is modulated by quite skilled playing, highlighted by sophisticated guitar riffs and complex polyrhythms. The six-song EP Dillinger Escape Plan (Now Or Never, 1997) and the three-song EP Under The Running Board (Relapse, 1998) displayed a ferocious but methodic grafting of speed metal, hardcore and even jazz on the trunk of grindcore.
With guitarist Brian Benoit and bassist Jeff Wood replacing
Adam Doll (who was left paralyzed after an accident), their first full-length, Calculating
Infinity (Relapse, 1999), only 33 minutes in length, showed even more
dexterity. The formidable impact of high-speed missiles like Sugar Coated
Sour and Variations On A Cocktail Dress make it clear that this is a
grindcore album. Dimitri Minakakis' horsely screamed vocals paint a terrible
picture of the world he inhabits. Horror and mayhem permeate 4th Grade
Dropout, echoed by the eerie and sinister instrumentals *#.. and Weekend
Sex Change.
But, buried somewhere in the rubble, are jazz elements (especially in 43%
Burnt and Destro's Secret). Tracks like Calculating Infinity
(perhaps the defining moment here), Jim Fear and The Running Board
actually resort to the odd time signatures and tempo shifts and hypnotic guitar
scalings of progressive-rock.
