The Dillinger Escape Plan

The Dillinger Escape Plan is an American mathcore, metal and metalcore group from Morris Plains, New Jersey. Formed in 1997, it begins with guitarist Ben Weinman, bassist Adam Doll, vocalist Dimitri Minakakis and drummer Chris Pennie. The band is known for dissonant guitar work, complex time signatures, polyrhythms and unusual drumming, and later material also brings in more melodic elements and a wider range of influences.

History and line-up

The group develops out of the hardcore punk band Arcane, which forms in 1996. After Arcane ends, the musicians change direction and create The Dillinger Escape Plan. The line-up changes frequently, with Weinman remaining the only constant member for most of the band’s career. Later members include Liam Wilson on bass, Greg Puciato on vocals, Billy Rymer on drums and Kevin Antreassian on rhythm guitar.

After early releases such as the self-titled EP and Under the Running Board, the band gains attention in the hardcore scene for the intensity of its live performances and signs to Relapse Records. During the recording of Calculating Infinity, Adam Doll is injured in a car accident and is left paralysed from the chest down, so Weinman records the bass parts while Doll still contributes to the album’s development.

Recordings and collaborations

Calculating Infinity, released in 1999, becomes an influential record in hardcore punk and heavy metal and sells more than 100,000 copies. The band follows it with extensive touring, including shows with Mr. Bungle, and line-up changes bring in guitarist Brian Benoit and bassist Jeff Wood. Dimitri Minakakis later leaves because of the demands of touring, and Greg Puciato joins in 2001 after an open search for a new singer.

In this transitional period the band records Irony Is a Dead Scene with Mike Patton. Miss Machine follows as the first album with Puciato and marks a stylistic change that divides opinion. The band tours with acts including Slipknot, System of a Down and Megadeth. Brian Benoit later stops regular live performances because of injury.

Ire Works appears in 2007 during a period of internal tension and further line-up changes, including the departure of Chris Pennie and the arrival of Gil Sharone. Around this time the band also issues the EP Plagiarism and the live DVD Miss Machine: The DVD. Billy Rymer joins in 2009.

Later albums, label and recognition

The band leaves Relapse Records and sets up its own label, Party Smasher Inc., which releases Option Paralysis with Season of Mist in 2010. One of Us Is the Killer follows in 2013 through Party Smasher Inc. with several international labels, and is supported by the singles “Prancer”, “When I Lost My Bet” and “Hero of the Soviet Union”. The standalone single “Happiness Is a Smile” appears in 2014. The sixth studio album, Dissociation, is released in 2016, after the band announces that it will stop touring after that album cycle.

Across its career the band receives nominations from the PLUG Independent Music Awards, Kerrang!, Revolver and Metal Hammer, and it wins an Association of Independent Music Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music in 2017. Its farewell run ends with shows in New York City in December 2017, with guest appearances by former members and collaborators.

After the split

After the group ends, members pursue other work: Greg Puciato continues with projects including The Black Queen and publishes Separate the Dawn in 2019; Ben Weinman works with Suicidal Tendencies and other projects; Liam Wilson forms Azusa; and Billy Rymer and Kevin Antreassian continue with further musical projects and studio work.