The Dillinger Escape Plan are one of the most unique entities in rock n’ roll. Their albums can be confusing as the majority of the tracks are a unique blend of punk, hardcore, and metal, but they sit next to soaring pop songs with a perfectly clean tone. Including pop songs on their albums next to tracks that often verge on pure noise seems somehow both commercially savvy and yet suicidal. Their audience has grown slowly, but it’s a dedicated crowd, some of whom discovered them on the unlikeliest of bills.
They’ve toured with Nine Inch Nails, Deftones, and AFI and collaborated with Mike Patton. At the moment their headlining the annual Summer Slaughter Tour, an all-day affair usually dominated by extreme death metal.
Then there’s the live show. There is no other band that physically occupies more space on stage than Dillinger. I have no scientific evidence to back that up, other than to say that their live experience have resulted in serious injuries to the band and damaged equipment.
I had a chance to sit down with guitarist Ben Weinman and bassist Liam Wilson and chat about being inaccessible and commercial at the same time, attention from more-famous peers, and why they haven’t been paid for a number of dates on their current tour.