Spin (p.122) - "Gleefully impurist and highly addictive..." - Grade: B+
CMJ (p.4) - "[They] add tangible melodies to their rhythmic complexity."
The Dillinger Escape Plan: Benjamin Weinman, Brian Benoit, Chris Pennie, Greg Puciato, Liam Wilson.
Recording information: Water Music Recorders, Hoboken, New Jersey (2004); Mission Sound, Brooklyn, New York (2004); Backroom Rehearsal Studios, Rockaway, New Jersey (2004).
Released almost two years after Dillinger Escape Plan's previous recording, IRONY IS A DEAD SCENE (featuring guest singer Mike Patton of Faith No More/Mr. Bungle fame), MISS MACHINE finds the band sporting a new vocalist, but still offers the same incredibly complex mix of heavy metal, hardcore, avant-garde jazz, and progressive rock. Sounding at once more abrasive and more accessible, the New Jersey quintet takes the art-rock innovations of Shudder to Think and adds the extreme intensity of death metal. The band also throws in the experimental edge of Mr. Bungle and the dynamic chops of DISCIPLINE-era King Crimson to create something entirely its own. Less a collection of songs and more a multi-faceted tour through the outer boundaries of rock music, MISS MACHINE will challenge even the most regimented pop fan to lay aside preconceptions and take the journey.