Dillinger Escape Plan - Ire Works

Opening with a barrage that sounds exactly like Irony is a Dead Scene – the between vocalists EP Dillinger Escape Plan recorded with stand-in Mike Patton - Ire Works may very well be the album that a lot of fans might have expected from the band had Patton remained a permanent member. Quantum leaping between sonic landscapes and time signatures, DEP's third full length LP will leave any challengers to their throne of so-called mathcore floundering in the dust. Utilising even more of the possibilities afforded by the electronics introduced on pervious works, there are moments of Sick on Sunday that provide the definitive blueprint for crossing black metal with drill'n'bass. Elsewhere DEP flirt with soul vocals and jazz piano while heavy-petting with Mr Bungle style ADD-fueled composition. Music this heavy tends to get somewhat dismissed, but if that weren't the case, Dillinger Escape Plan would show up Radiohead's child's play for what it really is. (Ali Maloney)