CALCULATING INFINITY

The album that revolutionized metal and hardcore, Calculating Infinity delivered an unheard of blend of extremely technical metal, hardcore and jazz. Though many have ventured to this territory, no one has been able to do it quite like The Dillinger Escape Plan. These guys are highly skilled and very creative, but difficult to tolerate at times. The music on this disc is brutal for all but a few minutes on this disc, and it's difficult to enjoy. Vocalist Dimitri Minakakis can certainly keep up with the other members, but his voice lacks depth and is just plain grating. There isn't much else you can do on top of such music, but the vocalists the band works with in the future have more of a personality and, thanks to their exceptional growth compositionally, are able to do much more. Nevertheless, tracks like "Sugar Coated Sour" and "43% Burnt" are fascinating tracks and are still played on a regular basis live.

While on future releases the band would develop more variety and memorability, this constantly jarring chaos still stands as one of the most challenging and innovative albums in the history of metal and hardcore.