Ire Works is the third studio album by American band the Dillinger Escape Plan. The album was released in the UK on November 5, 2007, in the US on November 13 through Relapse Records, and in Japan on November 28. The album was their last album on Relapse.[1] The album is Gil Sharone's only album with the band and their first without founding drummer Chris Pennie. Lead guitarist Ben Weinman plays guitar alone on the record, due to Brian Benoit's injury. The album is described as mathcore,[2] post-hardcore,[3] and metalcore, incorporating a wide variety of influences including electronic music.[4][5]

Ire Works
Studio album by
ReleasedNovember 5, 2007
Recorded2007
Genre
Length38:26
LabelRelapse
ProducerSteve Evetts
The Dillinger Escape Plan chronology
Plagiarism
(2006)
Ire Works
(2007)
Option Paralysis
(2010)

According to an interview in Terrorizer magazine, this is their last album on the Relapse Records label.[6] The album was critically successful, debuting on the Billboard 200 at number 142 with 7,000 copies scanned,[7] but was later corrected when it was revealed that Relapse somehow forgot to scan the pre-release album sales, which made the first week total actually around 11,000. The album features guest vocals by band's former vocalist Dimitri Minakakis (on "Fix Your Face") and Mastodon's Brent Hinds (on "Horse Hunter").

Background

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After a successful reception and tour to Miss Machine, the band began recording new material. However, drummer Chris Pennie left the band to join Coheed and Cambria as the band's permanent drummer after the departure of their former drummer. Shortly after, new drummer Gil Sharone was hired by Dillinger and performed the drum tracks on the album.

During the Miss Machine tours, guitarist Brian Benoit developed nerve damage in his left hand and was forced to quit the band. Instead of hiring a new guitarist, Ben Weinman played all of the album's guitar tracks. Jeff Tuttle was later hired as the band's touring guitarist. Once again, the band hired metalcore producer Steve Evetts. Former vocalist Dimitri Minakakis makes guest vocals on the track "Fix Your Face", and has appeared on stage with the band many times.

The artwork was created by Shelby Cinca of Frodus and Decahedron.[8] He was chosen by the band for his sci-fi/futurist-influenced visual sensibilities. The artwork is also a subtle reference to Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning, as a URL pointing to "ireworks.net" is written in small, almost hidden text on the album's official lyric sheet. The triangle on the album contains the same basic colors shown on the Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning pyramid, though the actual artwork uses gradients versus having different levels of shading. [9]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic84/100[10]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [4]
The A.V. ClubA−[11]
Chronicles of Chaos9/10[12]
Decibel9/10[13]
Drowned in Sound8/10[14]
Kerrang!     [15]
NME     [16]
Pitchfork8.0/10[2]
PopMatters9/10[5]

Ire Works was released to critical acclaim. In the January 2008 issue of Revolver they counted down the top 20 albums of 2007 with Ire Works at number two, right behind Baroness's Red Album and before High on Fire's Death Is This Communion. It gained the same spot in Kerrang! magazine's Top 20 albums of 2007, before Machine Head's The Blackening and behind Biffy Clyro's Puzzle. It was ranked number 3, below Watain's Sworn to the Dark and Pig Destroyer's Phantom Limb, in Decibel's Top 40 Albums of 2007. Mike Portnoy named this album one of his favorite albums of 2007 on his official web page.

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Ben Weinman and Greg Puciato

No.TitleLength
1."Fix Your Face"2:41
2."Lurch"2:03
3."Black Bubblegum"4:04
4."Sick on Sunday"2:10
5."When Acting as a Particle"1:23
6."Nong Eye Gong"1:16
7."When Acting as a Wave"1:33
8."82588"1:56
9."Milk Lizard"3:55
10."Party Smasher"1:56
11."Dead as History"5:29
12."Horse Hunter"3:11
13."Mouth of Ghosts"6:49
Japanese bonus track
No.TitleLength
14."The Perfect Design" (live)3:57

The live version of "The Perfect Design" previously appeared on the Plagiarism EP.

Personnel

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Additional personnel

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  • Dimitri Minakakis – backing vocals on "Fix Your Face"
  • Brent Hinds – backing vocals on "Horse Hunter"
  • Steve Evetts – producer
  • Steve Ryan – additional/assistant engineering
  • Alan Douches – mastering
  • Shelby Cinca – graphic design
  • Craig Demel – violin
  • Robin Reynolds – cello
  • Phill Williams – percussion
  • Ali Tabatabai – percussion, saw
  • Matt Lupo – trumpet on "Milk Lizard"

Charts

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Chart (2007) Peak
position
French Albums (SNEP)[17] 169
UK Albums (OCC)[18] 147
US Billboard 200[19] 142
US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[20] 17

References

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  1. ^ "THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN: Complete Work on New Album; Unveil Preview Track - News from Relapse Records / Release Entertainment". Archived from the original on October 20, 2007. Retrieved September 17, 2007.
  2. ^ a b "The Dillinger Escape Plan: Ire Works". Pitchfork.
  3. ^ "'Works' for us - The Boston Globe". Boston Globe. December 11, 2007. Retrieved April 21, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Ire Works - The Dillinger Escape Plan". AllMusic.
  5. ^ a b "The Dillinger Escape Plan: Ire Works". PopMatters.
  6. ^ Terrorizer Issue 165, December 2007: Interview with The Dillinger Escape Plan
  7. ^ Alicia Keys Lands Fourth Consecutive #1 Album - News Story | Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV News
  8. ^ "Decahedron". Decahedron. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  9. ^ "Ire Works". Archived from the original on November 21, 2007. Retrieved December 2, 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  10. ^ Ire Works at Metacritic  
  11. ^ "Dillinger Escape Plan: Ire Works". The A.V. Club.
  12. ^ "The Dillinger Escape Plan - Ire Works : Review". Chronicles of Chaos.
  13. ^ Decibel magazine, issue #38, p.87. Schizopolis: Ire Works review by Jon Bennett.
  14. ^ "Album Review: The Dillinger Escape Plan - Ire Works / Releases / Releases // Drowned in Sound". Archived from the original on February 23, 2015. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
  15. ^ (11/10/2007, p.48)
  16. ^ (11/03/2007, p.47)
  17. ^ "Lescharts.com – The Dillinger Escape Plan – Ire Works". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  18. ^ "Chart Log UK: Asher D – Dyverse". zobbel.de. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  19. ^ "The Dillinger Escape Plan Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  20. ^ "The Dillinger Escape Plan Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 13, 2020.