ARTIST: The Dillinger Escape Plan
ALBUM TITLE: Option Paralysis
RECORD LABEL: Season of Mist/Party Smasher Inc.
RELEASED: March 23, 2010

By Eric Stuckart
Creator, Destroyer

My first impression of The Dillinger Escape Plan was a violent one. I had gone to see them at Chicago’s infamous Fireside Bowl and came home with a black eye after bassist Liam Wilson had stage dove into my face knees first. At the time I was pretty pissed but in retrospect it was an awesome show. In their prime, that band tore people apart, and people loved them for that.

Although they’ve never really lost their edge in the live setting, they have certainly tempered their sound greatly. 2002’s Irony is a Dead Scene introduced a melodic slant, courtesy of guest singer Mike Patton, which would prove hard to shake for the so-called ‘mathcore’ band. Singer Greg Puciato showed how well he could imitate Patton’s snarl, but never gave up on the incensed screams he was known for.

Option Paralysis continues in that aforementioned direction, and the band is better for it. Opening with “Farewell, Mona Lisa,” the song pretty much sums up the entire album. There are the discordant riffs, mind boggling time signatures, and catchy melodic sweeps that contrast the musical destruction beautifully. One of the few bands that had shown that they could grow more accessible without completely joining the mainstream, Option Paralysis is probably the best Faith No More album since the mid-90s.

But as with all things in this band, it’s very sporadic. They spend a good chunk of the album completely annihilating everything in their path, and at times sounds like their more spastic days of old. While these are welcome moments, it’s songs like the six and a half minute “Widower”, with its piano intro and huge rock midsection that truly make Option Paralysis memorable.

RATING: 9/10