Genre: Experimental Metal/Hardcore
Label: Sumerian
Date of Release: May 13, 2013
SPASTIC HARDCORE
New Jersey kingpins The Dillinger Escape Plan have become a formidable force in the metal scene thanks to their trademark blend of punk, experimental, and hardcore. Their newest specimen of this formula would be their fifth full-length album entitled "One of Us is the Killer," released in 2013.
In theory, polymerizing these different subgenres of metal and rock could lead to an incredible work of music, especially at this point in time. In certain respects, "One of Us is the Killer" does succeed. There are a good number of instances where the album manages to demonstrate a nice balance between its fury and attention to detail. Highlights include "Prancer," which leans towards a punk edge that grips the listener upon the first note, and the title track, which is a bit more tame than the rest of the tracklist, but truly lays on the subtle complexity to draw its audience in.
In fact, the key thing that delivers both the vigor and the technicality this record has to offer lies with the musicianship. Starting off, the vocals possess a grand range, escalating from subtle but haunting clean singing to extremely feral shrieks and screams to fill in the punk hardcore side of the album's formula without overdoing it. The guitars and drums both are incredibly complex and show off great prowess, but they are both solid enough to be at least listenable. With all of these elements in mind, the instrumentation is probably the best aspect of the album overall.
On the other hand, however, there are plenty of times where the album's potent sense of technicality somewhat backfires. While the instrumentation is well-displayed, the way a few the songs are written do lead them to be somewhat claustrophobic, with random moments and jumbled parts galore. For an example, the beginning of the album's closer "The Threat Posed by Nuclear Weapons" initially seems to be a quiet but haunting passage, but is then suddenly broken by bits of loud segments peppered throughout. Instead of grabbing listeners, moments like these do take away some of the music's momentum, resulting in the album sounding exhausting at times more-so than invigorating.
Even though "One of Us is the Killer" isn't exactly masterpiece material because of this flaw, it still is a pretty enjoyable release. Many people seem to shower this band with praise for its intriguing formula, and judging from this album, it definitely makes sense why this is the case. The musicianship is stellar, the energy is undeniable, and on top of that, the multi-dimensional blueprints the music follows is nothing short of interesting. All of this is enough to warrant a solid rating.
Score: 7/10 (Solid)
New Jersey kingpins The Dillinger Escape Plan have become a formidable force in the metal scene thanks to their trademark blend of punk, experimental, and hardcore. Their newest specimen of this formula would be their fifth full-length album entitled "One of Us is the Killer," released in 2013.
In theory, polymerizing these different subgenres of metal and rock could lead to an incredible work of music, especially at this point in time. In certain respects, "One of Us is the Killer" does succeed. There are a good number of instances where the album manages to demonstrate a nice balance between its fury and attention to detail. Highlights include "Prancer," which leans towards a punk edge that grips the listener upon the first note, and the title track, which is a bit more tame than the rest of the tracklist, but truly lays on the subtle complexity to draw its audience in.
In fact, the key thing that delivers both the vigor and the technicality this record has to offer lies with the musicianship. Starting off, the vocals possess a grand range, escalating from subtle but haunting clean singing to extremely feral shrieks and screams to fill in the punk hardcore side of the album's formula without overdoing it. The guitars and drums both are incredibly complex and show off great prowess, but they are both solid enough to be at least listenable. With all of these elements in mind, the instrumentation is probably the best aspect of the album overall.
On the other hand, however, there are plenty of times where the album's potent sense of technicality somewhat backfires. While the instrumentation is well-displayed, the way a few the songs are written do lead them to be somewhat claustrophobic, with random moments and jumbled parts galore. For an example, the beginning of the album's closer "The Threat Posed by Nuclear Weapons" initially seems to be a quiet but haunting passage, but is then suddenly broken by bits of loud segments peppered throughout. Instead of grabbing listeners, moments like these do take away some of the music's momentum, resulting in the album sounding exhausting at times more-so than invigorating.
Even though "One of Us is the Killer" isn't exactly masterpiece material because of this flaw, it still is a pretty enjoyable release. Many people seem to shower this band with praise for its intriguing formula, and judging from this album, it definitely makes sense why this is the case. The musicianship is stellar, the energy is undeniable, and on top of that, the multi-dimensional blueprints the music follows is nothing short of interesting. All of this is enough to warrant a solid rating.
Score: 7/10 (Solid)
