The Dillinger Escape Plan, thirteen years of activity, fourteen members among founders, more or less stable, and fleeting appearances, three LPs, five EPs plus a live DVD, and a fourth, completely new LP.

"Option Paralysis" is born in a particular moment for the band, now an acknowledged institution in the extreme scene. From them (but not only: the immense Botch and the destabilizing Coalesce must also be mentioned) the mathcore took off: mathematical contortions and acrobatics pushed to the extreme with hardcore fury, but also thinned and unstable hardcore, unpredictable, chaotic, or magmatic. "Calculating Infinity," that debut LP dated 1999, has remained in the hearts of many—no one sounded so crooked, violent, etc., at the time.

This legacy is something DEP continues to carry, for better or worse: with all subsequent albums, you always hear sooner or later that "for smurf's sake! It’s not like Calculating Infinity!"

Unfortunately for these types of people, I am one who likes these things: I love dynamic bands, musicians who understand that "experimental" does not equate to "what doesn’t air on television" but equates to movement, to constantly remaining unstable, incorporating new influences, changing viewpoints, improving what is recognized as stale or flawed, smoothing out any unwanted edges, and creating new ones where none might be imagined.

That’s why I liked "Option Paralysis;" despite, holy moly, it not being "Calculating Infinity," the band (thanks also to a refreshing label change, from Relapse to the smaller Seasons of Mist) has created its longest album (no worries: still forty-one minutes) and best amalgamated. The furious parts, beyond a superficial whiff of "craft," reveal uncommon attention to detail and arrangements (and we are talking about DEP, which already has a "standard" songwriting style that is extremely erratic and unpredictable), without forgetting that, by golly, the songs work; and despite the increase in average length, they keep you glued to the headphones/speakers/system, managing also to deliver numerous melodic episodes of excellent level that are no longer, as often happened in the past, inserted as a kind of break, interlude, or single to make a video: extremely violent tracks can end with long, almost epic trails, while tracks more dominated by electronics and melody (the piano sounds are exceptionally precise) can close in the most murderous manner imaginable.

Nonetheless, defects are not absent: we must not forget the other side of the coin, namely a risk of homogenization of the tracks, which, however, the most ardent and passionate listeners will know how to avoid, as well as a heavily noticeable citation of the sound dear to Mike Patton, which, after that gem of a collaboration they brought out together (the EP "Irony Is A Dead Scene"), was somewhat possible if not understandable then at least predictable.

Twisted, deviated/deviant, naughty, cold but with a heart of gold as we already know them, Dillinger has finally managed to make a record substantial enough (and more). After the cornerstone "Calculating Infinity," a Miss Machine that tested the waters with competence, Ire Works that miniaturized and meticulously crafted the songs into miniatures of varied nature, we are faced with what we could call the essence and squaring of the circle of the Dillinger-sound, still fortunately reluctant to fossilize (to mention one that came to me at the moment: what would similar tracks be with the almost Warp-like electronic treatment of certain pieces on the previous album?) and capable of making us enjoy it as much as we love to.

Tracklist Samples and Videos

01   Farewell, Mona Lisa (05:23)

02   Good Neighbor (02:30)

03   Gold Teeth on a Bum (05:22)

04   Crystal Morning (02:02)

05   Endless Endings (02:32)

06   Widower (06:23)

07   Room Full of Eyes (04:15)

08   Chinese Whispers (04:06)

09   I Wouldn't If You Didn't (04:14)

10   Parasitic Twins (04:41)

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