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Nov 5, 20223 min read

The Dillinger Escape Plan - Ire Works (2007)

FROM THE CRYPTS - CELEBRATING PAST ALBUM RELEASES in the HISTORY of HARD ROCK & HEAVY METAL…



On November 5, 2007, The Dillinger Escape Plan released their third full-length studio album Ire Works in the UK via Relapse Records (in the US on November 13, in Japan on November 28).


The album is Gil Sharone's first and last 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 has been described as Mathcore, Post-Hardcore, and Metalcore, while incorporating a wide variety of influences including Electronic music.


According to an interview in Terrorizer Magazine, this is the bands final album on the Relapse Records label. The album was critically successful, debuting on the Billboard 200 at No. 142 with 7,000 copies scanned, but was later corrected when it was revealed that Relapse somehow forgot to scan the pre-release album sales, which made the first week total actually around 11,000. The album features guest vocals by the band's former vocalist Dimitri Minakakis (on Fix Your Face) and Mastodon's Brent Hinds (on Horse Hunter).


Background:

After a successful reception and tour for Miss Machine, the band began recording new material. However, drummer Chris Pennie left the band to join Coheed and Cambria as the band's permanent drummer after the departure of their former drummer. Shortly after, new drummer Gil Sharone was hired by Dillinger and performed the drum tracks on the album.


During the Miss Machine tours, guitarist Brian Benoit developed nerve damage in his left hand and was forced to quit the band. Instead of hiring a new guitarist, Ben Weinman played all of the album's guitar tracks. Jeff Tuttle was later hired as the band's touring guitarist. Once again, the band hired Metalcore producer Steve Evetts. Along with his guest appearance on Fix Your Face, Dillinger’s former vocalist Dimitri Minakakis has appeared on stage with the band many times.


The artwork was created by Shelby Cinca of Frodus and Decahedron. He was chosen by the band for his sci-fi/futurist-influenced visual sensibilities. The artwork is also a subtle reference to Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning, as a URL pointing to "ireworks.net" is written in small, almost hidden text on the album's official lyric sheet. The triangle on the album contains the same basic colors shown on the Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning pyramid, though the actual artwork uses gradients versus having different levels of shading.


Critical Reception:

Ire Works was released to critical acclaim. In the January 2008 issue of REVOLVER Magazine they counted down the top 20 albums of 2007 with Ire Works at No. 2, right behind Baroness' Red Album and before High On Fire's Death Is This Communion. It gained the same spot in Kerrang! Magazine's Top 20 albums of 2007, before Machine Head's The Blackening and behind Biffy Clyro's Puzzle. It was ranked No. 3, below Watain's Sworn to the Dark and Pig Destroyer's Phantom Limb, in Decibel Magazine's Top 40 Albums of 2007. Former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy later named this album one of his favorite albums of 2007 on his official web page.



Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells



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