CALCULATING INFINITY

Calculating Infinity is The Dillinger Escape Plan's first stab at making an album. THis complete album is an amazing insane mix of many genres which include Metal, Hardcore, Experimental Rock, Jazz, Noise, Noisecore, Grind and Grindcore. Songs on this album sometimes just blow me away with its extreme variation, but at times just cumbersomely noisy and annoying.

But one thing that this album has really exceled in was making The Dillinger Escape Plan into a band that is not afraid to experiment with new heavy, distorted sounds mixed with some of the old Post-Hardcore sounds mixed in Jazz influences like many of their Hardcore/Noisecore counterparts. But I must say, this is far from being the best Progressive Rock album, since it is NOT Progressive Rock. It is just Experimental Grind- Death-Noisecore.

This is a very good album, but non-essential and not recommended since many would absolutely hate their brutally heavy sound and label it as noise.

2.5/5

I'm scared that this kind of "music" is just not bearable for well-trained and spoilt ears like mine! Don't get me wrong I'm not the type of listener who hates avant-garde in general.I even enjoy to listen to SOME experimental stuff. But not if it's just for the extremity's and novelty's sake and doesn't have much to do with music as we know it. And in my opinion this is the case here. The technical abilities of the musicians certainly are stainding out. They can play really fast in a breathtaking manner. But what it is good for when those extremely fast melodies that don't fit together at all are combined with a really alienating voice and lyrics that don't make any sense. Surprisingly there are even some "normal" passages but on the other hand they are too few and too little special either to save this piece of work.

Avant-garde is a highly critically acclaimed thing in general per se and visionaries and pioneers have usually a hard live to go. That's why I'm appreciating avant-garde music otherwise but these guys here I refuse to count even as such.It's just noise and environmental pollution and only good for completely insane fellows looking all the time for something completely different from anything else done before.

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.

When I first heard this album I was reminded of a man I saw on a street corner shouting his brains out through a megaphone. There was conviction and a sense of desperation in his voice, but in all honesty I couldn't decipher a single thing he was saying, and neither could anyone else passing by either. Oblivious to the bad acoustics and cheap megaphone, he railed on and possibly warned us about something, but in actuality he was wasting his entire afternoon since no one could hear him if they even cared.

Calculating Infinity has that aspect, but it also has a ton of musical energy to compensate for the relentless shouting about "stuff". Frantic and aggressive, the music lunges with ripping fast rhythms between hardcore, metal and even some grind influences while retaining a technical tightness usually reserved for technical metal and prog bands. The focus is mainly on the tempos and time signatures, thus the drummer is easily the most important member here, and does a fine job keeping busy while anchoring this whole project. The songs themselves are mostly noisy and violent pieces that can suddenly at any time shift into moments of jazzy fusion or just sheer ridiculous head-scratching weirdness for a brief spell for no apparent reason than to keep the listener guessing.

Meanwhile, far off on the horizon, a little penis wiggles in the wind.

The important thing about Calculating Infinity is that despite the seeming randomness to it all, I never get bored by the experience. Granted the vocals took some getting used to as they don't veer much from that constant yelling with occasional 'whispery' passages to add variety, and some of the atonal chugging sections begin to wear out their welcome just before the music shifts into something with hints of melody or a slow atmospheric passage...one never knows what will happen next. It's a fun record to be enjoyed by those into raucous music that has its roots in hardcore music while brandishing their instruments like seasoned aces with a fixation on time signatures and polyrhythms. Later on, the band would branch out towards more experimental realms and a better variance of vocalizations, but here is the group at its basic foundation, what they are essentially known for above all else.

Calculating Infinity is the perfect example of an album that takes the rulebook of its genre(s) and throws it out completely. It's the flawless melding of brutality and sophistication, of anger and despair, of hardcore euphoria and jazz-driven mathematics. And the members of The Dillinger Escape Plan were certainly aware of what they were doing too. Guitarist and figurehead Ben Weinman was once quoted as saying on The Independent:

"Calculating Infinity was us effectively ripping up the music theory book; if someone said 'don't harmonise with a second, it just sounds out of tune', then every single lead we did, we'd harmonise with a second. It sounded disgusting, but we did it".

This music is controlled rage, but just because it's controlled doesn't mean it's sterile or edgeless. The complex, labyrinthine arrangements are given plenty of vocal ammunition through Dimitri Minakakis' tortured, chilling screams. And I'll certainly give the band credit: they don't mess around when it comes to storming the gate early. "Sugar Coated Sour" is both a phenomenal thesis statement of the album's sound and practically a war cry for any listener interested in joining the band for this unique event. The dissonant guitar harmonies, impossibly precise drumkit grinding, and furious wailing are incredible markers of what you'll be hearing throughout this brief experience. About 90% of Calculating Infinity is a mixture of blinding speeds, jaw-dropping technical prowess, and the rare moment of unsettling reflection. Those calmer sections are a great way for the band to show their vast range of influences as well, such as the incredible polyrhythmic prog-oriented bridge of "43% Burnt" or the avant-jazz chord progressions of the slow melodic (?) section of "The Running Board." Even more curious are the few interludes that mark the record, leaning more on the avant-garde side of its identity. The title track and "*#.." are enjoyable Meshuggah-esque ditties that rely on strange rhythms and little diminished guitar "pops," while "Weekend Sex Change" combines sampling, depressive guitar melodies, and incredible drum soloing into one fascinating fusion.

The most impressive thing about Calculating Infinity is that both sides of its bipolar personality are so natural and well-represented. Many of us are aware of the various rumors surrounding the album's recording, most famously the decision to roll dice to determine each time signature. But it's strange to think that for something so, ahem, "calculated," that every bit of hardcore aggression and raw emotion can still come out in full force. Just listen to that utterly insane intro to "Jim Fear." It doesn't give us a moment's notice to prepare for the full-on assault of scorching fretwork and deranged screams, but everything manages to be very planned and pre-staged all the same. That whole song really comes together when you reach the next section and hear the complex runs across the fretboard in unison with the rabid drums, and that concept of "controlled anarchy" comes into play. Wanna know why it all works? Because the insane technicality and the angular "prog-meets-punk" riffing ensure that each emotional catharsis is earned. The Dillinger Escape Plan somehow have the ability to turn technical prowess into atmosphere, weaving in and out of disturbing musical passages; Dimitri is simply icing on the cake with the chaos he spews over it all. But each emotional release works because the band members are incredibly skilled at building us up to those moments. Much like Converge's Jane Doe, there's a respect and care that's given to each weird transition and tempo shift despite the hell being unleashed on top of the songwriting.

At the end of the day, Calculating Infinity is simply a mesmerizing paradox; it combines mathcore, hardcore punk, free jazz, avant-garde metal, and progressive metal, and somehow manages to treat them all as equals. If you want sophisticated songwriting and complex instrumentals, this album is essential. And if you just want to [%*!#] everyone up in the moshpit, then it's still essential.