Caught Live: The Dillinger Escape Plan Slay at ArcTanGent Festival

To say New Jersey-based math/metalcore maestros The Dillinger Escape Plan are a raucous force of nature onstage would be a grave understatement. The quartet have been bringing their explosive energy to gig-goers the world over for two decades but are now winding down, with latest opus Dissociation pegged to be their last album. Fortunately the band is bringing their wake of chaos to Aotearoa one last time before they hang up their mic cords and pedal boards. Check out this video of the crew belting out classic tune ‘Prancer’ at the UK’s ArcTanGent festival and keep scrolling to read our brief chinwag with frontman Greg Puciato…

UTR: Tell us a little about your latest offering Dissociation. Is the title a reference to feeling disconnected from reality by having such a heavy touring schedule or have you been hooning a few too many Robitussins?

No, the title is a reference to me being mentally unwell and feeling like I was literally going to dissociate from reality at any moment. Like suddenly waking up in a mental hospital and not knowing what happened. As well as my preferred mode of dealing with the world or people in general most of the time. Getting the fuck out of it or away from them. Like how I want to dissociate from this interview right now. I suppose with the conclusion of the band you can say it's also a reference to detaching from something. There's a lot of themes on the record that go under that term's various definitions.

Dissociation was mixed by Josh Wilbur, who’s engineering resume for guitar-driven bands is as long as my arm and includes the likes of Limp Bizkit, Lamb of God and Hatebreed. How’d you hook up with him?

He produced the [metal supergroup] Killer Be Killed record and I met him then. Then I saw the size of his cock and I was like "oh man! We gotta be friends"! Now we're buds and we try to play basketball or eat tacos and stare at each other's cocks when time allows. He didn't just mix, he tracked a lot of my vocals on the record too, I'd say half of them.

Stick-wielding maniac Zach Hill fielded drums for Dissociation’s title track. Were these some big, gnarly shoes to fill? I feel like you’re formidable frontman skills rival that of Death Grips’ MC Ride, channeling similar energies, just through different channels.

The drums on that track are a loop from twelve years ago. I'd say Billy has more than made a name for himself. I don't see there being any competition there. Yes MC Ride and I are both channeling similar cock energy.

One of my favourite clips of you guys is a live rendition of 'Sugar Coated Sour' at a Virgin Megastore in 2005, where you can hear the person filming the clip expressing surprise at the ruckusness of the performance. I imagine it’s a given that you sustain many a physical injury from playing live but have you ever been dealt any legal blows as a result of a show?

Of course. It sucks. Never lost though!

So, the question on everyone’s lips: this tour is purported to be your last. Why is that? Is it a “better to burn out than fade away” type situation?

There's a bunch of reasons, it's not all cut and dry and easily able to give verbal form to. Time and life moves people in different directions. People's priorities can only line up for so long. Over time people just grow and become who they're gonna be and when that happens it changes the dynamics of a band, maybe you don't have that much more to say together anymore. Maybe you don't have much more in common, in terms of what you're aiming at or where you're shooting from. Things have a way of naturally letting you know when it's time. The resolve felt appropriate, you let the songs go where they wanna go. You don't resist them. You let the albums go where they wanna go. So it works with the band as a whole too. Let it go where it wants to go.

You can catch Dillinger Escape Plan playing live at San Fran on 24th October in Wellington and at the Kings Arms in Auckland on 25th October. For more info and tickets head over HERE.