Calculating Infinity | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 28, 1999 | |||
Recorded | March – June 1999 | |||
Studio | Trax East (South River, New Jersey) | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 37:27 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | ||||
the Dillinger Escape Plan chronology | ||||
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Calculating Infinity is the debut studio album by American metalcore band The Dillinger Escape Plan. Recorded at Trax East Recording Studio in South River, New Jersey, it was produced by engineer Steve Evetts with the band's guitarist Ben Weinman and drummer Chris Pennie, and released on September 28, 1999, by Relapse Records. Calculating Infinity is the band's only full-length album to feature original vocalist Dimitri Minakakis, who left the band in 2001.
Media response to Calculating Infinity was positive, with critics praising the aggressive nature of the album's material, as well as the complexity of the arrangement and instrumental work. Several publications have highlighted it as a landmark release in the Dillinger Escape Plan's catalogue and in hardcore punk and heavy metal as a whole. They also credited its influence on the genres and on the work of several subsequent bands. The record is also classified as metalcore, avant-garde metal, and grindcore, in addition to being highlighted as one of the first mathcore albums. Its lyrical themes mostly revolve around failing relationships and insecurity. By 2013, Calculating Infinity had sold in excess of 100,000 copies worldwide.
In 1998, The Dillinger Escape Plan wrote and recorded the EP Under the Running Board . During this time period, The Dillinger Escape Plan gained notoriety in the hardcore punk scene for the intensity of their performances which were increasingly wild, and often violent. This reputation, as well as the creative, technical approach of their music, led to Relapse Records offering the band a multi-record contract. [1] Shortly after the release of Under the Running Board, rhythm guitarist John Fulton left the band to focus on his computer programming studies. [2]
Recording for Calculating Infinity took place in March, April, and June 1999 at Trax East Recording Studio in South River, New Jersey, with production led by Steve Evetts alongside lead guitarist Ben Weinman and drummer Chris Pennie. [3] The recording process has been described by Weinman as "extremely difficult" due to technological limitations, and he was "very unhappy" with the recordings at first. [4] In an interview with Decibel magazine, the guitarist added: "In the studio it was really hard, because at the time we didn't use Pro Tools and did everything to tape". [5] The group also ran out of money during the process, resorting to trading their individual publishing rights for the songs to their label Relapse Records in return for $2,000. Weinman commented on this decision: "We weren't thinking about the future, just the present and how this record had to rule." Vocalist Dimitri Minakakis agreed: "We weren't focused on what the record could possibly do; we just wanted a record we were happy with," adding that it was a decision agreed to by every member of the band. [5]
The band's original bassist Adam Doll was unable to contribute to the recording of Calculating Infinity after suffering a spinal fracture in a road traffic accident shortly before recording began, leaving Weinman to handle bass duties. [6] Speaking to Kerrang! about Doll's injury, Weinman described it as "a life-changing moment" for the band, adding: "It was difficult to think about moving forward, but I felt he would get better and I wanted to make something for him to come back to". [4] Rhythm guitarist Brian Benoit joined the band partway through the recording process and contributed additional guitar recordings to a handful of tracks, as well as writing a guitar part on "Clip the Apex... Accept Instruction" and assisting with vocal arrangements on "Variations on a Cocktail Dress". [5] When asked whether the band considered delaying the recording of the album until Benoit was "fully integrated" into the band, Weinman responded: "The idea was ... for us to progress and build on what we had done" rather than "stopping our progression waiting for someone else to catch up"; Benoit also commented: "I knew my role, which was getting up to par live". [5]
Calculating Infinity was released on September 28, 1999, [7] with Relapse Records issuing it on CD and Hydra Head Records releasing a vinyl edition. [8] The album was released later in Japan on April 5, 2000, featuring bonus tracks "The Mullet Burden", "Sandbox Magician" and "Abe the Cop" [9] (the three tracks comprising Under the Running Board). [10] To promote the album, The Dillinger Escape Plan opened for Mr. Bungle on the first leg of their California tour on Mr. Bungle frontman Mike Patton's invitation, and appeared on the Warped Tour and at various rock festivals. [6] Patton was reportedly introduced to the band after being given the album, but he had been "one of the first people" to hear the album according to Weinman. [11]
Calculating Infinity was reissued on vinyl alongside 2004's Miss Machine and 2007's Ire Works on November 27, 2015, marking the first time in more than ten years the album had been released on the format. [12] The album reportedly sold in excess of 100,000 units worldwide, which made The Dillinger Escape Plan the best-selling artist on Relapse at the time. [6]
Commentators have primarily categorised Calculating Infinity as mathcore due to its frequent use of complex time signatures, atypical rhythms and unpredictable tempo changes. [13] [14] [15] Many have claimed that The Dillinger Escape Plan "pioneered" or even "created" the genre with the release of their debut album. [13] [16] [17] Others have described the album's style as metalcore, [18] [19] [20] avant-garde metal, [6] [21] hardcore punk, [13] [21] [22] grindcore, [22] [23] and post-hardcore. [24] Speaking to The Independent , the band's guitarist Weinman suggested that the challenging nature of the album's material was intentional, explaining that "Calculating Infinity was us effectively ripping up the music theory book; if someone said 'don't harmonize with a second, it just sounds out of tune', then every single lead we did, we'd harmonize with a second. It sounded disgusting, but we did it". [25] Natalie Zina Walschots of Exclaim! described the album's style as "even more avant-garde" than the band's first two extended plays, which she had noted featuring "complex and technical guitar work", "unpredictable shifts in tempo and tone" and "fractured song structures". [6] Decibel writer Daniel Lake described the album as a combination of "gouts of noise, rhythmic chaos, jazzy runs and cinematic interludes". [26]
According to vocalist Dimitri Minakakis, the majority of the lyrical content on Calculating Infinity is based on his experience in dysfunctional relationships. Speaking to Decibel magazine, Minakakis explained that "Most of my Dillinger lyrics were predicated on myself ... I just had stupid relationships with idiotic people, and I'd just write a song about it", concluding that "most of the lyrics on Calculating Infinity were based on human insecurity. That's where I got the best material." [5] The album's title was suggested by guitarist Brian Benoit, who recalled to Decibel: "Since so much of the material lyrically was about failing relationships, I kind of took it as a "love not lasting forever" sort of thing ... Obviously, forever – or infinity – isn't going to happen ... so let's see how long we can calculate before this blows up in our face." [5]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Blistering | 10/10 [27] |
Chronicles of Chaos | 9.5/10 [28] |
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 7/10 [29] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Critical response to Calculating Infinity was positive. AllMusic writer Jason Hundey described the album as "spew[ing] forth anger and venomous misery in a way that is comparable only to spontaneous combustion", adding that it expands upon "the ultra-aggressive, deliciously technical approach they adopt toward grind and hardcore". [22] Hundey praised the release for being "both screechingly abrasive ... and morbidly beautiful", dubbing it "explosive and brilliant", singling the tracks "43% Burnt" and "Weekend Sex Change" out for praise. [22] Decibel 's Kevin Stewart-Panko wrote: "Regardless of what you think about Calculating Infinity, you can't deny that the 11 tracks on this album revolutionized extreme music and raised the bar in terms of technicality, musicianship, speed, dynamics," describing it as a "groundbreaking metallic hardcore album". [31] The CMJ New Music Report noted that "this noisy album is almost painful to listen to, but it's compelling enough to turn you into a happy masochist." [23] Terrorizer magazine ranked the album as the 15th best release of the year, [32] while Metal Hammer also included it in a retrospective top ten list for 1999 published in 2017. [33]
Calculating Infinity has since been lauded as a landmark release for the band and the genre. Rolling Stone ranked it the 56th greatest metal album of all-time in a 2017 feature, praising it for featuring "an underlying logic, [and] a sense of structure that lifted songs ... to a realm above the noise and fury of everyday hardcore". [34] In 2023, they listed "43% Burnt" as the 97th greatest metal song of all time. [35] [36] Metal Hammer columnist Stephen Hill claimed that the album "changed the face of metal" and demonstrated that the members of the band were "serious and inventive musicians, not just one dimensional noisemongers". [18] Writing for MetalSucks, Amy Sciaretto suggested that Calculating Infinity was the album "that made Dillinger so revered by the metal underground, and obviously, those listening to metal", [37] while Alternative Press writer Colin McGuire described the album as "one of the most influential collections of experimental metal the genre has seen in the last two decades". [21] Metal Injection ranked Calculating Infinity as the sixth best debut album in heavy metal in a 2016 feature, [38] while Loudwire ranked it at number ten on their own list on the same topic in 2017, with writer Graham Hartmann hailing it as "the most spastic, mathematical, chaotic and contradicting metal album ever released". [39] Loudwire later listed the record at number three on their list of the "25 Best Metalcore albums of all-time". [40]
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Calculating Infinity. [3] Songwriting credits via ASCAP. [41]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Sugar Coated Sour" | 2:24 | |
2. | "43% Burnt" | Weinman | 4:31 |
3. | "Jim Fear" | Weinman | 2:22 |
4. | "*#.." | Chris Pennie | 2:41 |
5. | "Destro's Secret" |
| 1:56 |
6. | "The Running Board" |
| 3:21 |
7. | "Clip the Apex... Accept Instruction" |
| 3:29 |
8. | "Calculating Infinity" | Weinman | 2:02 |
9. | "4th Grade Dropout" |
| 3:35 |
10. | "Weekend Sex Change" |
| 3:11 |
11. | "Variations on a Cocktail Dress" |
| 7:55 |
Total length: | 37:27 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
12. | "The Mullet Burden" | Weinman | 1:50 |
13. | "Sandbox Magician" |
| 2:31 |
14. | "Abe the Cop" |
| 3:12 |
Total length: | 45:00 |
"Variations on a Cocktail Dress" ends at 2:15; a hidden track containing samples from the 1959 film The Diary of Anne Frank begins after three minutes of silence. [26]
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Calculating Infinity. [3]
The Dillinger Escape Plan is an American metalcore band. The band was formed in 1997 in Morris Plains, New Jersey by guitarist Ben Weinman, bassist Adam Doll, vocalist Dimitri Minakakis, and drummer Chris Pennie. The band's use of dissonance, odd time signatures, polyrhythms and unconventional drum patterns became a staple of their sound, although later albums incorporated more melody, and influences from a range of genres. The band's lineup shifted numerous times throughout its existence; by the time the group dissolved, Weinman was the only remaining founding member. The final lineup also included longtime members Liam Wilson on bass, Greg Puciato as lead vocalist, and Billy Rymer on drums, alongside then-newcomer Kevin Antreassian on rhythm guitar.
Metalcore is a fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, that originated in the late 1980s. Metalcore is noted for its use of breakdowns, which are slow, intense passages conducive to moshing, while other defining instrumentation includes heavy guitar riffs often utilizing percussive pedal tones and double bass drumming. Vocalists in the genre typically perform screaming; more popular bands often combine this with the use of standard singing, usually during the bridge or chorus of a song. However, the death growl is also a popular technique within the genre.
Miss Machine is the second studio album by American mathcore band The Dillinger Escape Plan released in July 2004 through Relapse Records. It is the first album by the band to feature vocalist Greg Puciato and bassist Liam Wilson. Miss Machine marks a change to a more experimental style by the band.
Irony Is a Dead Scene is the third EP by American metalcore band, The Dillinger Escape Plan. It was recorded with Mike Patton and released on August 27, 2002, through Epitaph and Buddyhead Records.
Under the Running Board is an EP by American mathcore band the Dillinger Escape Plan, released on October 22, 1998. The album shows a more experimental side, which would later be more developed on Calculating Infinity. This is also the band's first release on Relapse Records. The song "Abe the Cop" would later be performed and recorded on their self-titled EP's re-release in 2000.
The Dillinger Escape Plan is the debut EP by American mathcore band The Dillinger Escape Plan, originally released in 1997 and rereleased by Now or Never Records as NoN.02. Some point between the original pressing and the 2000 reissue, it was repressed with different artwork. The repress contains an additional keyboard credit for Steve Evetts, as well as correcting the spelling of his name which was misspelled on the original pressing. The original also has the words "It's OK. We'll Just Kill Her Too" on the cover/spine which does not appear on the repress.
Mathcore is a subgenre of hardcore punk and metalcore influenced by post-hardcore, extreme metal and math rock that developed during the 1990s. Bands in the genre emphasize complex and fluctuant rhythms through the use of irregular time signatures, polymeters, syncopations and tempo changes. Early mathcore lyrics were addressed from a realistic worldview and with a pessimistic, defiant, resentful or sarcastic point of view.
Chris Pennie is an American musician who is the former drummer for the progressive rock band Coheed and Cambria and former drummer and co-founder of mathcore band The Dillinger Escape Plan.
Benjamin A. Weinman is an American musician, most notable for being the lead guitarist and primary songwriter of the mathcore band the Dillinger Escape Plan (DEP). He is the founder and sole constant member of the DEP, he is currently playing rhythm guitar with the crossover thrash band Suicidal Tendencies and lead guitar in the progressive rock supergroup Giraffe Tongue Orchestra.
Dimitri Minakakis is an American musician and graphic designer best known as the original singer of the band The Dillinger Escape Plan from 1997 to 2001.
Plagiarism is an EP by American mathcore band The Dillinger Escape Plan, released on the iTunes Music Store on June 13, 2006.
Cursed, Unshaven and Misbehavin': Live Infinity is a live album by American mathcore band The Dillinger Escape Plan. It is a live album with songs from Under the Running Board and Calculating Infinity released on 7" vinyl. The album is a rarity and not often included in their discography. It was released on black, white, grey marble and possibly other colours of vinyl.
Ire Works is the third studio album by American band the Dillinger Escape Plan. The album was released in the UK on November 5, 2007, in the US on November 13 through Relapse Records, and in Japan on November 28. The album was their last album on Relapse. The album is Gil Sharone's only album with the band and their first without founding drummer Chris Pennie. Lead guitarist Ben Weinman plays guitar alone on the record, due to Brian Benoit's injury. The album is described as mathcore, post-hardcore, and metalcore, incorporating a wide variety of influences including electronic music.
The discography of The Dillinger Escape Plan, an American mathcore band, consists of six studio albums, six extended plays (EPs), two split EPs, eight singles, one video album, 15 music videos and seven other appearances. Formed in Morris Plains, New Jersey in 1997, the band originally featured vocalist Dimitri Minakakis, guitarists Ben Weinman and Derek Brantley, bassist Adam Doll and drummer Chris Pennie; Brantley left after two shows and was replaced briefly by touring guitarist John Fulton, who himself left in 1998. In 1997 the band released its self-titled debut EP on New Jersey independent label Now or Never Records, after which they were signed by Relapse Records who issued their second EP Under the Running Board in 1998. The EP charted on the UK Singles Chart, reaching number 194.
Starkweather is an American heavy metal band from Philadelphia formed in 1989. They have a complex experimental metal sound often including use of dissonance, intricate tempo changes and avant-garde sensibilities. Starkweather helped pioneer the hardcore punk/heavy metal crossover sound that would later be known as "metalcore", as well as being a major influence on the mathcore subgenre. They have influenced many of today's top selling hardcore/metal bands such as Converge, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Mastodon and Coalesce among many others.
Option Paralysis is the fourth studio album by American mathcore band The Dillinger Escape Plan, released on March 23, 2010. After having fulfilled their contract with Relapse Records, the band released the album through Party Smasher Inc., their own new imprint in collaboration with French record label Season of Mist. It marks The Dillinger Escape Plan's first release to feature Billy Rymer on drums, since Gil Sharone left the band in September 2008 due to the frequent touring schedule and to focus on his brother's band Stolen Babies.
Billy Rymer is an American musician, most notable for being the drummer for The Dillinger Escape Plan from 2009 until the band played its final shows in December 2017, and again since December 2023.
"Honey Bucket" is a song by American rock band Melvins. The song was released as the third single from their fifth album, Houdini (1993). It is the fifth track off the album.
Dissociation is the sixth and final album by American metal band The Dillinger Escape Plan. It was released on October 14, 2016 by Party Smasher Inc. Alongside the announcement of the album, the band revealed it would be their last, breaking up after the album's touring cycle.