As the decreed "music encyclopedia" of our band (not of my choosing), I've been enlisted to deliver a review or two every now and then to give y'all a glimpse of what sounds' been tickling our brains lately. Or something.
This one's a longtime favorite of mine. With a title like "Calculating Infinity," I wasn't really sure what to expect on first listen at age 18 besides trying to execute the impossible; and, well, Dillinger did just that for my ears. I never thought an album could be so viscerally stimulating. Unfiltered, unrelenting, and just so fucking ANGRY. The musical equivalent of breaking a bottle over an unsuspecting barfly's head and hurling it at another poor patron.
Instrumentally, it's primordial chaos: blisteringly hot and fast tremolo ascending licks, dissonant metal chugs that feel like getting whiplashed again and again, machine gun blast beats that rattle your brain over and over, etc. But it's far from random. No, this was meticulously composed and stewed in the heads of hardcore kids that wanted to stir shit up. And even still, other musical influences shine through with jazz, indie and even drum n' bass coalescing into a decadent gumbo of rage (courtesy of Chef Ben Weinman, lead guitar).
Lyrically, it's just as ferocious. Lines like "I SMELL THAT WHORE" and "FUCK YOU CUZ I ROTTED" stick out with unbridled vitriol. The result of being burned by a few too many old flames. Is our singer Dimitri Minakakis in the right? Probably not, but his hatred isn't any less palpable. This sounds like the ultimate cathartic release after locking your true emotions behind a stonewall; something's gotta give, and silence isn't the answer.
Now, I'm not a "professional critic" or "reviewer"; I can't say for sure if this is the best intro to subgenre as vast as mathcore. But if you like your music mixed with amphetamines, capsaicin, and unending bitterness, check it out. They're also playing at Brooklyn Paramount on June 21st (you can catch em after you see Nihil in Woodside ;)).
Fav tracks: Sugar Coated Sour, 43% Burnt, The Running Board, 4th Grade Dropout
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