The evolution of The Dillinger Escape Plan continues...with, as always it seems, impressive results. The kings of mathcore find themselves on Season of Mist now, which is somewhat odd in that most probably thought by now these guys would have been scooped up by a major label at some point. No matter, the band continue to shift their brand of technical metal, hardcore, pop, and proggy jazz-core to new horizons, which as has been the case with them, will ultimately continue to piss off the original fanbase but win them leagues of new ones in the process.
In actuality, there's plenty of maniacal, complex, extreme metal/hardcore insanity going on here, which will please some of the folks who still can't get enough of Calculating Infinity or Miss Machine. Tracks like the bombastic "Good Neighbor", as well as the frenzied "Crystal Morning" and "Endless Endings" feature a non stop barrage of intricate riffing, noodly jazzy lead guitar breaks, crashing drums, and the demonic wailing of Greg Puciato. In fact, Puciato has really come into his own as a vocalist who can deliver a wide variety of screams, growls, barks, as well as smooth melodic passages and pop crooning. He throws everything at the listener during the diverse opener "Farewell, Mona Lisa", as well as on the catchy, Faith No More inspired "Gold Teeth On a Bun", but it's his soaring clean vocals on the moody "Widower" that really shines brightest. Sure, the latter is bound to send the hardcore & metal freaks into shrieks of protest, but it's one of Option Paralysis' most daring cuts, and shows how DEP have become quite adept at putting together compelling pop based material. However, it's always the bone crunching, complex riffery that seems to rise to the top, and you can hear planty of that on the wild "Room Full Of Eyes" and the raging "I Wouldn't If You Didn't", two tracks filled with insane stop/start rhythms, screaming vocals, and intricate guitar work. Biggest surprise here has to be the chilling Nine Inch Nails influenced "Parasitic Twins", an atmospheric spooker that once again shows DEP willing to take a leap and go into offbeat directions.
You would be hard pressed to find many albums here in 2010 that will be as satisfyingly diverse as Option Paralysis. The Dillinger Escape Plan are once again ahead of the game, and have delivered another monster release that hits on all levels and proves that their tag as 'genre leaders' is more that justified.
Track Listing
1. Farewell, Mona Lisa
2. Good Neighbor
3. Gold Teeth On A Bum
4. Crystal Morning
5. Endless Endings
6. Widower
7. Room Full Of Eyes
8. Chinese Whispers
9. I Wouldn't If You Didn't
10. Parasitic Twins
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