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Listening to this album is alot like watching a building being demolished. It may seem chaotic, violent, and even frightening to some, but you also realize that alot of planning and crafting went into making this work out right. Another way to put it, is that this is well organized chaos. But enough metaphors for now, let's get down to the actual music.

From the high fretboard finger tapping at the beginning of "Sugar Coated Sour" to the obligatory movie sound clip at the end, this album never fails to impress me. With all the tempo changes and odd time signatures, it's a wonder these guys remember how to play this stuff live. When discussing this band, one can't help but bring up the technical aspect of things. With the aforementioned tempo changes, breakdowns that sound like a mix of circus music and jazz, and the use of strange scales you don't hear used much, Dillinger delivers the goods. Add to this the flawless drumming of Chris Pennie and you have yourself some amazing music.

On top of the musical insanity, you hear the deranged vocals of Dimitri Minakakis, who seems to be literally screaming his lungs out. This brings me to the lyrics. Dillinger has had a reputation for having some of the strangest lyrics around, and this CD does nothing to disprove it. While lines like "Alfresco slapsticked foam mouth sunshine" aren't exactly profound, they do fit the atmosphere that "Calculating Infinity"creates. The atmosphere of a musical nervous breakdown.

This is an album I would consider essential for any fan of technical music, or just heavy music in general. Admittedly this isn't for everyone, alot of people will be turned away by the harsh and chaotic sound. But if you do decide to check this out, give it a few listens before you pass any sort of judgement, because it takes a while to really grasp the many layers of things going on in these songs.



People who liked this also liked:
Alkaline Trio - GoddamnitDillinger Escape Plan - Irony is a Dead SceneJawbreaker - Dear YouJawbreaker - 24 Hour Revenge TherapyThe Lawrence Arms - Apathy and ExhaustionThe Lawrence Arms - Oh! Calcutta!Descendents - Milo Goes To CollegeThe Blood Brothers - Burn Piano Island, BurnThe Lawrence Arms - The Greatest Story Ever ToldAt The Drive-In - Relationship Of Command



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    Posted by istapledmyfoot on 2006-11-10 20:24:39
    My Score:

    best album ever.

    Posted by MrAwesome on 2005-07-26 21:51:45

    oh yea more thing, my bro works for relapse so i get free shit all time! aaahhhaa you jealous bastards! ......metal is so good i cant stand it

    Posted by MrAwesome on 2005-07-26 21:47:21
    My Score:

    right before i got into metal i heard this album and had no idea how anyone could listen to it. now, one year later im fuckin amazed how good this band really is. this cd is metalcore at its best.

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, April 15, 2004 at 1:37 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    The new singer looks like a god damn body builder and shit

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, April 23, 2003 at 9:11 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    they all died?

    Posted by Yellowtrash on 2003-04-21 23:32:00
    My Score:

    I heard of story of these guys one time when they were playing in Omaha with their old singer. I guess they were pretty violent and Dmitri the singer started lashing out at people with his belt and the guitars were chopping away at people. Then a friend of theirs with a torch and alcohol started yelling, "Get the Fuck Down!" I hope you can guess what happened after that.

    Posted by FortyMinutesWest on 2003-04-21 21:57:38
    My Score:

    Second of all, one misused word doesn't make it a bad review. I described the band, I described the album.

    Posted by FortyMinutesWest on 2003-04-21 18:16:35
    My Score:

    Oh christ, I misused a word.

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, April 21, 2003 at 6:06 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Not to be a dick, but "Listening to this album is a lot like watching a building being demolished." is a simile, not a metaphor.

    I personally liked the bold reviews, then I knew which ones were going to be written well.

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, April 21, 2003 at 12:43 AM (EDT)
    My Score:

    sick sick album. this makes me want to have BM all over the damn place. dimitri is great.

    Ramo
    (i should get that BM checked out)

    Posted by FortyMinutesWest on 2003-04-20 22:21:58
    My Score:

    And the dragon comes in the niiiiiight

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, April 20, 2003 at 10:12 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Dude... someone knows H*R!

    I know all about tremolos, arpegios...

    Posted by FortyMinutesWest on 2003-04-20 21:03:52
    My Score:

    "we put that light switch in so you could turn the lights on and off, not so you could throw light switch rave parties!"

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, April 20, 2003 at 5:56 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    The obligatory movie quote like from some sci-fi movie like.."the system is down" "the system is down"

    Posted by lieutenant on 2003-04-20 01:18:56
    My Score:

    Not to over-post, but upon reading this album I have to commend the artist. The reviewer, I mean.

    The introduction was a pleasure to read.

    Posted by lieutenant on 2003-04-20 01:17:23
    My Score:

    I just cannot decide whether I believe the album title "Calculating Infinity" is really lame or cool for various reasons.

    What I can say though, is this album is amazing. Shoot that in your ear.

    Posted by StratManX on 2003-04-19 22:54:57
    My Score:

    I'm sorry, I just can't grow to like these guys. They can play but it's not for me, it can only be compared to audio rape.

    Posted by FortyMinutesWest on 2003-04-19 19:27:35
    My Score:

    That's odd, they're usually pretty incredible live. I guess everyone has an off night though. Oh, and thanks for the compliment sickboi.

    Posted by Melvyl on 2003-04-19 18:49:38
    My Score:

    i kinda liked them, then i saw them live and they sucked horribly and got booed out just because they sucked so much (and they were headlining and all the poeple there came just to see them).

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, April 19, 2003 at 5:16 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Below comment is from me.

    -sickboi

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, April 19, 2003 at 5:15 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Wow Forty, I think this is one of the best reviews I have ever read. It is incredibly difficult to accurately describe DEP, let alone in a creative way. Outstanding job.

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, April 19, 2003 at 3:31 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    jesus...........

    Posted by RaNcIdPuNx on 2003-04-19 01:24:45
    My Score:

    back in my CD player that is!!!! hahahaha

    Posted by RaNcIdPuNx on 2003-04-19 01:18:52
    My Score:

    reviewed in 1999

    Posted by RaNcIdPuNx on 2003-04-19 01:16:54
    My Score:

    Well Well dillinger is back! Damn, the instruments in this CD are awsome. The singers voice is powerfull and makes you wanna hit that poser kid in the face. You might wannaa pick this one up.

    -RaNcId PuNx

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, April 18, 2003 at 11:38 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    I'll buy it for the lyrics alone. You cracked me up

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, April 18, 2003 at 8:37 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Aww bring back Spazz

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, April 18, 2003 at 8:09 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    This rocks so much harder than thier latest work with Patton.

    MASTADON is amazing, talk about some kick ass guitar parts. . .

    -luke

    Posted by Yellowtrash on 2003-04-18 19:35:28
    My Score:

    This fucking rocks. I'm glad everyone so far likes this band.

    Posted by waste_elite on 2003-04-18 19:02:19
    My Score:

    wow, people know of mastadon? my brother's really good friends with them.

    anyway, DEP puts on a wicked live show, see these guys if the chance arises.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, April 18, 2003 at 4:59 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    I like everything on Relapse(that ive heard). Im goin to see the Relapse tour next month.

    bling,
    -feedmynightmare

    Posted by FortyMinutesWest on 2003-04-18 16:14:02
    My Score:

    The End is pretty amazing, but that's a given, since they're on Relapse. Do you like Mastodon at all?

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, April 18, 2003 at 3:52 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Very cool record, but I prefer The End for my tech metal fix.

    -feedmynightmare

    Posted by eyeball_kid on 2003-04-18 15:51:06
    My Score:

    It's pretty good and all, but I think singing improves everything a lot. The EP with Mike Patton is genius.

    I really like the little ambient bits on this record.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, April 18, 2003 at 3:46 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    i'm one of those "i can't believe you can listen to this" types. the technical wizadry aside, really, i like frontmen screaming. a lot. but screaming every second of every song can be a bit much for me to digest. i'll give em another go seeing as how everyone is raving about em.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, April 18, 2003 at 3:21 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    I remember I first heard this when it came out. I was like "what on earth? how could someone listen to this?" Then I heard it like a year later and was blown away this time. A great record everyone should own!
    -Jay

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, April 18, 2003 at 3:03 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Fuck yeah, this album is amazing. I haven't seen Dillinger live yet, hopefully i will this summer.

    Posted by FortyMinutesWest on 2003-04-18 12:48:15
    My Score:

    Dillinger is amazing live, they probably put on the best live show I've ever seen, even topping Bad Luck 13.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, April 18, 2003 at 12:21 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    This is the best album ever, and while it is really hard and intense, and musician could appreciate the technicality and intricity that went into these songs. Be sure to catch Dillinger live, as the put on the best live show I have ever seen, and that says a lot. Dillinger, more than anybody band out there, is the new Nirvana in terms of changing the way we look at music. They can do no wrong.