Irony Is a Dead Scene

by The Dillinger Escape Plan

Overview

When Dillinger Escape Plan opened for Mike Patton's Mr. Bungle in 1999, the show was a dream for fans of experimental metal. When a break between vocalists allowed Dillinger Escape Plan to seek out a collaborator to fill the time, Patton seemed like an inspired choice to mix up their assault. Despite the ridiculously high expectations from both artists' fan bases, Irony Is a Dead Scene is a brilliant collaboration between the two. Coming off as a challenge to the stale rap metal scene that often sites Patton as an influence, it's hard not to view this as the natural progression of Faith No More's King for a Day... sound. Dillinger Escape Plan builds mountains of molten guitar riffs and eerie sound effects into an angular landscape of complex ideas, just to let Patton pull the whole thing together with his multi-faceted croon. One only needs to hear the Mel Blanc-meets-Ian MacKaye jabbering on "When Good Dogs Do Bad Things" to understand how brilliant he can be on the microphone, and if that doesn't convince listeners, then maybe the falsetto breakdown or grizzled rap found later in the song can do the job. The songwriting here is truly inspired, displaying the prodigious chops of Dillinger better than anything they've done since Calculating Infinity. It would be impossible to cite all the genres covered in the 18 minutes of music here, but this band has truly earned its standing as the heir to Faith No More's infamous versatility. A disappointing cover of Aphex Twin's "Come to Daddy" (barely) fails to match the original's unpleasant atmosphere and manic approach, but otherwise this is an excellent EP that confounds as much as it inspires. To anyone disillusioned with the mainstream metal scene in 2002, this is what rock-radio junkies were missing out on that summer. ~ Bradley Torreano

Product Details

Release Date:	11/16/2010
Label:	Epitaph
UPC:	0045778665815
Rank:	34874

Tracks

1. Hollywood Squares
2. Pig Latin
3. When Good Dogs Do Bad Things
4. Come to Daddy

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Dillinger Escape Plan   Primary Artist
Mike Patton   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Vocals,Percussion
Chris Pennie   Drums,Keyboards,Percussion
Brian Benoit   Guitar
Adam Doll   Sampling,Keyboards

Technical Credits

Steve Evetts   Mixing
Chris Badami   Engineer
Chris Pennie   Composer,Producer
Richard D. James   Composer
Mike Patton   Composer
Alan Douches   Mastering
The Dillinger Escape Plan   Composer
Adam Doll   Composer
Benjamin Weinman   Composer