"I must be hearing a totally different album than a lot of the one and two star reviewers. Yes, there are melodic hooks on "Highway Robbery" and "Setting Fire To Sleeping Giants," and yes, "Phone Home" and "Unretrofied" sound like slowed down industrial rock, but the rest of the album is classic Dillinger Escape Plan. In fact, the remaining songs are more complex and chaotic than anything on Calculating Infinity. The guitarists do fewer scales and more subtle, complicated techniques this time around,and the drumming is as good as ever. And the so called "sell-out" songs add variety and make the album feel more like an album as opposed to a collection of random spaz outs. Just because there's (gasp!) singing, doesn't make an album worthless. I seriously doubt that anybody listens to JUST hardcore metal, and that the same people who pan Dillinger Escape Plan as weak enjoy melodic singing in other contexts. In some cases, I'll agree that singing doesn't fit in metalcore, but here, it's done perfectly and works to make the whole record more dynamic. In short, this is one of the most complete, enjoyable metalcore albums ever by a band that is endlessly inventive and even better live."
"Hardcore and metal fans don't always see eye-to-eye, but Dillinger is one of those exceptional bands that people make exceptions for. These metalcore veterans have turned out another masterpiece (with one of the songs therein being featured on a major motion picture soundtrack noless) that is sure to make mincemeat of whatever brain you have left after their last album. New vocalist Greg Puciato adds an amazing depth to a band you could already see no bottom of. Puciato ranges from singing clearly to growling to screaming his deranged brain out. As for the rest of the band, they have again taken their punishing mathcore to new heights. Songs such as "Highway Robbery", "Phone Home", and "Setting Fire to Sleeping Giants" are a little bit untraditional for Dillinger yet incredibly enjoyable. "Crutch Field Tongs" is an odd little bit of ambience and sound effect, something DEP appearently enjoys dabbling in. The rest of the album is the mind-blowing metalcore you've come to expect from these guys, including the alluded-to track "Baby's First Coffin", found on the "Underworld" soundtrack. I certainly don't mean to over-explain the unexplainable DEP or undersell any part of the album-- that would be downright sinful. I just want any listener who is pondering the decision - to buy or not to buy - to know that it's a little odd, even for Dillinger. This album is gripping, from the first note to the last bloodcurdling scream, and I guarantee that any fan of Dillinger will love it.
Just a few side points now: first I want to give my wife, the incredible Mrs. Funk Nuggets, all deserved thanks for suprising me with the gift of this album (the gift of metalcore is the gift that keeps on giving, especially when your wife hates the sound of it and would rather be hit by a radioactive asteroid than have to listen to it, but loves you enough to buy it for you.) Secondly, I'd like to note the obvious - I am a Dillinger fanboy. I reveiwed their previous two albums under the name Wes Straight-Pimpin' and i intend to continue reveiwing their every release. Third, although I love hardcore and some metal, I'm not just about hard music anymore. There was a time when all my friends derided me for enjoying any radio rock, and that is reflected in some of my reveiws. However, my roots are in radio, and at least in my area of the counrty, radio is none too heavy (and if one person says "What about Metallica?" I'll hit them with a shovel in the skull.) It may suprise some hardcore or metal fanboys to learn that some hard music fans are PROUD of the fact that they are well-rounded in their music tastes, but it is true in at least my case. I also happen to like old school rap, anything Beastie Boys, Interpol, alot of pop-punk from a few years ago, some emo and "screamo", Modest Mouse, third wave ska, Johnny Cash, and alot of oddball stuff on public radio. R.E.M. happens to course through my veins, and I've been addicted to Everclear since I first heard them paining the airwaves with "Heroin Girl". If this is shocking, it shouldn't be. It's all part of maturing in your tastes and being true to yourself. If you think that's lame, you've got some self-observations in store. Well, that all. Buy "Miss Machine" by Dillinger Escape Plan. Word to your mother."
Mind-blowing brilliance
Evolver | NJ USA | 04/14/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"i rarely feel the need to comment about stuff online, but this album was so utterly incredible that i want to balance out against the 1 and 2 star voters. This album is a fantastic fusion of influences and originality. It is a very well conceived piece of work , balancing intense heaviness, technicality, songwriting and really interesting sound design.
buy it now if you like your music heavy and strange."
"I had never heard of The Dillinger Escape Plan before I got this album but I had read some very good reviews about them and I also learned they had collaborated on their previous EP with Mike Patton. So I picked this album not knowing what to expect. My first impression : this album is amazing! This is one of the most complex albums I have ever heard and gives a new meaning to the term Mathcore. While not necessarily hardcore music, The Dillinger have it all in their music. The Faith No More influences are there, especially in the vocals section but worry not, The Dillinger Escape Plan are very original to go off ripping other bands. The album is pretty short in length but each of the songs is so full of ideas that every one of them seems so complete. Give this album a try, since words cannot describe the perfection that lies in it. The Dillinger Escape Plan are leading music to the future!"
Never mind, this is really a 2-star album
P. Nils Olsen | Florida | 08/07/2004
(3 out of 5 stars)
"I'm sure many people are going to automatically label "Miss Machine as a work of genius, but don't be fooled. This album finds Dillinger Escape Plan up to many of their old tricks. Now, before I get into this, and before people criticize me for not appreciating complex and technical music, I want to make it clear that I think DEP are one of the greatest bands of all time. And therein lies the problem. This album is simply not up to par with "Calculating Infinity."
It's sad to watch one of your favorite bands slowly fall apart. This is exactly what's been happening to DEP ever since Greg Puciato replaced Dimitri Minikakus on vocals. It seems that the band can't think what direction to go in, and the result can be heard on "Miss Machine." It is the sound of a band that seems like it is being pulled violently apart in opposite directions. Dillinger are great at playing fast, aggressive, thrashy, angry, and complex music, but they aren't so good at playing slower, more ambient stuff. They are even worse at trying to meld the two extremes together, especially in the space of a single song. The result is that many of the songs have decent parts, but don't form a cohesive whole.
The best song on the album by far is the opener, "Panasonic Youth." The first part of "Baby's First Coffin" is good, classic Dillinger, but then the ending degenerates into some soft rock crap, with Greg Puciato sounding eerily like Brandon Boyd of Incubus.
So we have six decent songs on the album, several containing lackluster parts. This leaves five more songs which are, to be perfectly kind, awful ("Highway Robbery" is so-so). Dillinger attempt everything from industrial to straight-ahead hard rock, all with catastrophic results. The six good songs should have been released as an EP, and the band should have scrapped the remainder of the material, which is obviously filler.
I don't mean to give the impression that this album is completely worthless. It's not. It is still way better than most music out there, which is why I gave it two stars. Greg Puciato pleasantly surprised me as a vocalist. I'd never liked his vocal style until I heard this album. I always thought Greg's voice was thin and not very developed. He sounds much better on the album than he does live. He is surprisingly intense and has a lot of range. Also, the production on the album is great. Chris Pennie remains one of my all-time favorite drummers, and the band sounds tighter than ever. It's just that DEP are capable of so much more.