The Dillinger Escape Plan

Someday, sooner than you might think, those that choose to oppress us will succeed. The brave new worlds of sound explored by men, and women, with bottle enough to eschew convention for experimentation and innovation will fade into the ordinary – brave new worlds will no longer be new, nor those that dare explore them brave. Every time another so-called alternative outfit gatecrashes the Virgin Express Top 40 chart, the barriers that separate Us from Them close in on us. Who’s left to hold back the boundaries of the bland? Very few. So God bless our knights of the realm, The Dillinger Escape Plan.

Yet even now our greatest hopes are fighting a losing battle. Second on the bill below oppressor du jour, Thrice, Dillinger are forced to trim their set to the point where they, too, almost slip into the trap of the predictable. Whilst it’s great to hear the older, ‘Calculating Infinity’ material, many here have come to embrace the new. That said, when you have a song – for wont of a better name – as powerful as ‘43% Burnt’ in your arsenal, it’s only right that you wheel it out early on. As far as shock and awe goes, few do it better. To follow it up with the breathtaking ‘Panasonic Youth’ leaves all but the most narrow-eared, post-hardcore-hoodie-wearing angst-riddled teen gobsmacked. The walls may be caving in around them, but with such strength amongst their ranks, Dillinger are still standing strong, unimpressed by the organised chaos manifesting itself as passionate alternative music all around them. Heads can be held high for a little longer: the end will come, soldiers, but we won’t let them take us without many more fights.

Tomorrow, our battle-hardened posse rolls Reading-wards.