ROUND UP WHO, WHY, WHAT, WHERE... Edited by Darren Sadler

PANASONIC Y

ROCK SOUND has been getting the goss from The Dillinger Escape Plan guitarist Ben Weinman about their much-anticipated third album. Prepare to be challenged…

Purveyors of progressive metal / jazzcore The Dillinger Escape Plan are currently holed up writing material for the follow-up to 04’s ‘Miss Machine’ and guitarist Ben Weinman has been telling Rock Sound like it is! “This music is really going to piss people off,” the axe-slinger informed us from the studio. “There are a lot of people who accepted us and found some kind of safe place in our music and a lot of that’s going to be thrown out the window with this one! It’s time for bands like us to get out there and push things again as metal has become so mainstream and so safe that there’s no other way to go but to say, ‘How can we push this further?’” Ben told us the brutal new material the East Coast quintet have been creating is needed as a means to jolt the hoards of generic haircut bands out of their complacency! “It’s our job! A lot of that music is just basically pop-rock, whether those type of bands call themselves that or not; we feel it’s our duty to be the alternative to that,” he said. “Soundtrack music’s always been a huge influence because of the complexity and the way it can take on any shape or turn at any given time; it definitely pushes us to try things and not be afraid of things and to seek influences outside of our genre.” Taking the electronic elements evident on ‘Miss Machine’ to another level, Ben said another of their main musical influences has been Squarepusher.

[6] rock-sound.net
C YOUTH!

The Dillinger Escape Plan

hit electric avenue to

push metal to its limits!

For daily updates and gossip visit rock-sound.net ROUND UP

HIM Finnish legends HIM have designed an eco-T-shirt for The Hemp Trading Company and charity Whatever It Takes. The T-shirts are made by THTC from a fine blend of fabric consisting of 55 per cent hemp and 45 per cent organic cotton, instead of 100 per cent cotton, and this can save more than 200 gallons of water per T-shirt. Read more on HIM in these ‘ere pages! www.whateverittakes.org *SHELS Featuring former members of Mahumodo, Fireapple Red, and Eden Maine, *Shels will release their debut album ‘The Sea Of The Dying Dhow’ through Undergroove on June 18. www.shelsmusic.com

DEVIL SOLD HIS SOUL Devil Sold His Soul – also featuring former members of Mahumodo – release their debut full-length album ‘A Fragile Hope’ through Eyesofsound / Black Willow on June 18. See video snippets for ‘Between Two Words’ at www.devilsoldhissoul.com/DSHS-BTW-Video SUM 41 Canadian punk rockers Sum 41 return to action with a new album, ‘Underclass Hero’, on July 23. www.sum41.co.uk

Said the guitarist: “They once said that the future is going to be how electronics influence us as songwriters, as opposed to the other way around. For years people have been trying to make digital music sound like real instruments. Things that were never organic to begin with are influencing the way I play my music and a lot of this record was influenced by stuff that was never played on a ‘real’ instrument – it was electronic from the start and that’s the way we’re writing the music. We put a lot of effort into being creative electronically and organically.

writing,” he said. “I write a lot of the music and I’m trying to think of ideas and structures, I’ve not been sitting there with a metronome practising; I’m definitely scared as it’s very labour-intensive.” Finished songs include ‘Snake Face’, ‘Party Smashers’, ‘Black Bubblegum’ and ‘82588’ – the latter being a date, the significance of which Ben’s keeping very tight-lipped about! “You’ll have to Google it and see what comes up! It’s the day that something happened, but not really something directly to do with us. This record is extremely dynamic;

“It’s time for bands like us to get out there and push things again.” Ben Weinman

I like artists who don’t just stick with the standard structure, like Squarepusher.” In contrast to the digital element of the music, the quintet will be entering Sound City Studios in Los Angeles to record in analogue, producer Joe Barresi’s (Kyuss, Clutch, Tool) preferred method of tracking. It’s a prospect that leaves Ben shit-scared! “When you go into the studio you don’t know 100 per cent what you’re going to do; you haven’t practised all that much because you’ve been worrying about creating and

‘Black Bubblegum’ is one of the more melodic songs on the album and while one song can be melodic, the next can be the exact opposite. ‘Snake Face’ is pretty out of control, crazy and aggressive – it’s just a full-on train wreck!” Sounds like it’s going to be one hell of a head-caving experience! The as-yet-untitled album is pencilled in for a release via Relapse at the end of the summer. In the meantime, you can check out a trailer via www.myspace. com/dillingerescapeplan www.dillingerescapeplan.com

REUBEN Surrey rockers Reuben will release easily one of the most important albums (in Rock Sound’s opinion) of the year on June 25. ‘In Nothing We Trust’ will be preceded by the single ‘Blood, Bunny, Larkhall’ on June 11. www.wordsfromreuben.com SAOSIN As well as being confirmed for Download, hotly-tipped emo warriors Saosin will release new single ‘Voices’ on May 14 through EMI. They also play a headline show at London’s Mean Fiddler on June 07. www.saosin.com

rock-sound.net []