The Dillinger Escape Plan: "Option Paralysis"

Well, this is the first time I’ve “reviewed” an album. So here it goes. "Option Paralysis" is the fourth Dillinger Escape Plan record. (If you exclude "The Under The Running Board" and "Irony is A Dead Scene" EP’s.)

It starts off in a typical, spastic Dillinger fashion reminiscent of “Calculating Infinity” boasting some lunatic riffage, speedy, precise drumming and some gnarly sound effects. The overall mix on this album is great. I am a HUGE fan of the nice roomy drum tone. (Kudos to the engineer Steve Evetts! And obviously Bill Rymer’s awesome playing.)

In my opinion, “Option Paralysis” really shows off the song writing talent/abilities of the band. The track “Widower” is a nice example, starting off with a jazz inspired piano intro and slowly morphing into a beautifully catchy hook with some sweet harmonies. By the middle of the song, you are banging your head so hard that your gray matter is oozing out of your ear drums and all over your favorite chair, until you are immediately flung back into a ballroom slow dance. Got to love it! The track “Parasitic Twins” has sort of an eerie and mysterious quality to it ala Gorillaz meets NIN. Fucking Sweet.

I honestly was never a big fan of putting bands into “sub-genres” and I know a lot of people consider DEP a “mathcore” band, but I really think these guys could probably put out an album in just about any genre they choose. Every song keeps you guessing.

In the end “Option Paralysis” is an album no Dillinger fan would be disappointed with. You have all the insanity you could ever need with some polished edges, solid songwriting and production. Overall I think this is a great fourth addition to their catalog.

Also I will always love DEP because I saw them perform a cover of Van Halen’s “Hot For Teacher” at Irving Plaza in NYC a few years back and that pretty much blew my balls directly the fuck off.


"Option Paralysis" gets this lifeless douche’s seal of approval. 10/10 Horns. (Sorry, I got pretty jacked up off gummy bears and Arizona iced tea while writing this. Hopefully my next review will be more entertaining).

For more rantings about eating sweets, playing drums and Metal. Follow me on twitter @Lifelessone.



Related Links:

Dillinger Escape Plan on MySpace
Dillinger Escape Plan on Twitter

By: Chris Denman