Crunch Time: The Dillinger Escape Plan

awesome photo of Ben, borrowed from HERE

*Welcome to the latest edition of Crunch Time, where I swoon over some of my favorite HEAVY riffs.*

Still reeling from my last Dillinger encounter, it's no wonder that they are the focus of this latest installment of Crunch Time. I've gushed about The Dillinger Escape Plan numerous times here at Jim's Fear (as noted in the past, my blog is named after one of their songs) but for those newcomers/amnesia sufferers out there, here's a brief 411 on the band. DEP have been cranking out their high octane brand of math/tech metal since the late 90's. Insane time signatures, jaw dropping virtuosity, catchy hooks, monster breakdowns and snazzy jazz breaks, the band does it all. Their live shows are renowned for their epic displays of carnage (blood, sweat, fire breathing!). Dillinger's lineup and sound has changed greatly over the years but despite their continued flirtation with some semblance of mainstream success, they continue to shred faces all the same to this very day.

So it's with great pleasure that I present today's feature, easily one of the heaviest/ most infectious riffs ever recorded. It will smash you to bits before becoming ingrained in your head for eternity. Decibel Magazine ranked this diddy #9 on their "Top 50 Extreme Metal Riffs of All Time" list. It's the riff that's launched countless mosh pits/pile-on's this millennium. The intro riff to Calculating Infinity's epic, "43% Burnt."


"dun-dun-dun-dun. DUN DUN. dun-dun-dun-dun-dun."
Yes. Oh lawd yes. Did you folks survive that? I know Dimitri's (old singer) vocals can be a bit much. Some people might not even consider this stuff music, more like a random hodgepodge of noise. I used to be in that camp until I saw the band live back in 04'. Now I live for this shit. How about that awesome circus music bit @ 1:43 mark? That's what this is basically. Music for trig professors and circus clowns aboard a derailing freight train...and it all comes together with that CRUNCH TIME style riff again in the outro. DUN DUN.

*Bonus*
For those of you who couldn't handle the vocals, here's a live, sanitized version of Dillinger playing "Panasonic Youth/43% Burnt" in the studio sans screaming. The riff comes in @ 2:28.