Dissociation (album)

In August, 2016 a press release titled “Is this the end of The Dillinger Escape Plan?!",[4] The Dillinger Escape Plan announced that their new album, Dissociation, would be released on October 14, the band said that the record is “potentially” their last ever release, and that they will shortly be heading into a "extended hiatus",[5] In a Noisey interview guitarist Ben Weinman commented about the "extended hiatus" of the band; "Well, I think in some ways we didn't want to pull a Seinfeld and go out while we're still on top, you know what I mean? The band has actually never been more prolific and we're as credible and popular as ever. I think whenever we're on stage, there's not another band in the world playing at that time that even comes close to us, and that's our goal. We're really excited about this new album as well, but at the same time, it's going to be our 20-year anniversary in 2017—it might be even longer because I'm not sure when I started writing songs, but the first EP came out in '97—so I think it's one of those things where we didn't want to get to the point where we're stopping because we have to or because we're old or people are kind of over it. Who knows if that would ever happen, but I feel way more empowered in making hard decisions. I don't like the idea of slowing down or doing it less often, I like to just dive in full-force and take things to the extreme because that's what this band has always been about."[6] Weinman further commented; "We are going to do the cycle for this album and that's it. But there are a lot of things that go into this cycle. We have a full US tour that we'll be doing in the fall and then we'll be doing a massive tour in Europe in the winter, and that will probably take us towards playing other areas like Australia or wherever we have to hit. Then I'm sure we'll come back around and hit summer festivals and figure out what our very last shows will be around that time."[6]

Around the time of the announcement it was unclear whether the band was breaking up or taking an extended hiatus.[7] However in an interview with Metal Hammer magazine vocalist Greg Puciato spoke about the use of the term "Extended hiatus" saying, "Extended hiatus' would lead people to believe that we think we're gonna come back. We're breaking up. We're not going on an extended hiatus."[8]

In July, 2015, Ben Weinman announced during an Australian interview that the band will return to the studio in November to record the follow-up to their 2013 album One of Us Is the Killer.[9][10]

The band announced the album's release date of October 14, 2016 alongside premiering the track “Limerent Death” on BBC Radio 1’s Rock Show with Daniel P. Carter. About the track Weinman stated “[‘Limerent Death’] is one of my all-time favorite DEP songs,” “I feel that this song is one of the rare instances where all the members are feeling, and conveying, the same energy from start to end. A sharp focused dagger plowing its way through thick heavy walls.”[11] On September 27, 2016 the band released the second and final single from the album "Symptom of Terminal Illness".[12] On October 14, the album was released on the band's own label, Party Smasher Inc.[13]

According to Weinman the title of the album "...refers to the fact that I think we're all finally in a place where we can be individuals as part of a whole. That level of co-dependency isn't an issue with Dillinger. We do this because we want to and we like to and that's a good place to be. That's true maturity when you get to that point with all the relationships in life, so I think that's a big part of this album and this whole kind of celebration of us."[14]

When asked about the sound of the album Weinman said "It doesn’t sound like anything in our catalogue production-wise. Calculating didn’t sound like any record I had ever heard, it sounded cold and weird. In that respect, it’s kind of a bookend to Calculating.”[15]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	86/100[16]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[17]
Exclaim!	10/10[18]
Kerrang!	[19]
PopMatters	[20]
The Line of Best Fit	[21]
Metal Injection	[22]
Pitchfork	6.9/10[23]

Dissociation received acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 86 based on 15 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[16]

All tracks are written by Greg Puciato and Ben Weinman[24].

Dissociation personnel according to liner notes.[25]

The Dillinger Escape Plan

• Greg Puciato – vocals
• Ben Weinman – lead guitar
• Kevin Antreassian – rhythm guitar
• Liam Wilson – bass
• Billy Rymer – drums, percussion

Additional musicians

• Andrew Digrius – trumpet
• SEVEN)Suns – performed and arranged all strings:
  • Amanda Lo – violin
  • Earl Maneein – violin, viola
  • Fung Chern Hwei – viola, violin
  • Jennifer Devore – cello
• Zach Hill – additional drums on "Dissociation"

Production

• Steve Evetts – engineering, production
• Josh Wilbur – additional engineering
• Kevin Antreassian – additional engineering
• Mike Watts – additional engineering
• Frank Mitaritonna – additional engineering
• Nicholas Starrantino – assistance engineer
• Jonathan Maisto – assistance engineer
• Benjamin Weinman – assistance engineer
• Kurt Ballou – mixing at GodCity Studio
• Josh Wilbur – mixing
• Alan Douches – mastering at West West Side