look i can write reviews too!! phear!!!
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Love them or hate them, no one can deny that The Dillinger Escape Plan made the extreme music scene quite a bit more interesting with their 1999 groundbreaking release Calculating Infinity. It was suddenly realized that it was indeed possible to combine the extreme technical musicianship of the likes of Cynic and Atheist with the pure dissonance and energy of grindcore, and then injected with a touch of avant-garde to create something new entirely. From their loins spawned a number just short of legions of followers – whether expanding on their sound as Psyopus did, being a total clone such as Into the Moat, or just adding crazy musicianship to metalcore in the form of Reflux.
From here it is fairly easy to guess where Ion Dissonance stands; they are yet another The Dillinger Escape Plan legionnaire ready to fill the ranks. But leaving it at that would do the band a great disservice. Blending a touch of Meshuggah and fellow Quebecers Gorguts into their sound are the main two factors that contribute to Breathing is Irrelevant being more dissonant and painful, although possibly less tight than their fellows. Whether they are more musically accomplished than their pears is somewhat hard to tell when it feels as though your brain is being quickly and unprofessionally taken to pieces, but just listening to this album reveals they are the polar opposite of amateurs with their instruments.
Screeches, growls and the occasional spoken word section are contributed by the competent Gabriel McCaughry, while the talent required for what he does is debatable (no melody or hook writing is even attempted at here); he most definitely does it well. But the vocals serve less as another instrument and more as a rhythmic complement to the staccato, mind flaying rhythms of the rest of the group. I can’t even begin to describe the rest of the band. They are good. Really good. As far as complexity, dissonance, energy and keeping my interest for an entire album, they are beaten by few, if any.
When Breathing Is Irrelevant clatters to the end of its seemingly endless tempo, riff, time signature, and rhythm changes, your jaw will have hit the floor multiple times, your eardrums will be scarred, and it will feel as though someone has just delivered a roundhouse kick straight to your brain. My only warning is that if techcore bands make you wretch or brings back memories of painful headaches, then I’d suggest staying away.
