Review by Felix on August 14, 2019.

I remember that I was interested in the first full-length of Atrocity at the time of its release. I also remember that I listened to the album a couple of times. But honestly speaking, the fascination of this kind of death metal remained a mystery to me. Even now, almost three decades later, I do not really find access to the material of this debut. Whenever I think I understand it in its full dimension, it's just a hallucination.

Of course, it is positive that the formation tried to find its own niche in the death metal cosmos. I also don't want to ignore the technical skills the dudes obviously had. Additionally, I must mention their enthusiasm. Everybody thought they are authentic heralds of death metal and maybe this was true back in 1990. Shortly afterwards, nobody thought this anymore... However, let's stay in 1990. Atrocity perform on their debut an extremely progressive, sometimes very hectic, mostly inaccessible form of death metal. Despite the surprisingly straight "Fatal Step", this music is the exact opposite of this nearly cozy type of death that bands like Unleashed or Bolt Thrower made socially respectable. Perhaps this configuration is typical for a love-it-or-hate-it record, but I disagree. I appreciate the ambitions of the band, but I do not fall in love with the result.

Atrocity rather perform different parts than homogeneous tracks. Roughly thousand autonomous sequences per song appear. Sometimes they fit together, mostly they don't. I have no clue why the group felt the need to wallow in this form of technical arrogance. Would have been better to integrate a comprehensible structure from time to time. Not to mention a memorable chorus. But Atrocity evidently hate anything that pretty normal music consumers like and therefore they wallow in complex, absolutely non-conventional patterns. A few number of comparatively straight sequences brings the listener back on track every now and then, but this is always just a short pleasure and the name of the second number. "Life Is a Long and Silent River" reveals nothing but a strange from of cynical humour in view of the unorthodox pieces.

Apart from the confusing song structures, the formation works with the usual tools. The lead singer's raw voice avoids pure growling, but it also does not sound extraordinary in the given context. The same applies for the guitars, they are not overly low-tuned and have sometimes almost a thrash metal sound, but they also do not hurt the rules of the sub-genre. Unlike the drums which play every ten seconds a new rhythm, the bass remains more or less silent in the background. By the way, the production can be described as a typical Nuclear Blast product of the early nineties, not bad, but pretty emotionless. In summary, this is a special work for special people who have another taste than me. From my point of view, this album in its entity is hard to endure and please do not ask for highlights. On the other hand, as mentioned before, I respect the ambitions, the technical skills and the courage the new formation had back in 1990. So do me a favour and understand my evaluation as a compromise I made with myself.

Rating: 6.1 out of 10

Review by Allan on March 7, 2002.

The Dillinger Escape Plan is an all out insane bunch of guys hailing from New Jersey. “Calculating Infinity” is the bands first full-length record and has done nothing but please the masses that just about creamed themselves after hearing the bands previous material.

Dillinger Escape Plan are a grindcore/hardcore band that have jazz and rock influences in their music, and unlike many other grindcore bands who sacrifice musicianship and melody for speed and power, Dillinger make use of everything they can find around them and they do it damn well. Some might say that this band is controlled chaos! Sounds odd, I’m sure, but buy the album and see for yourself. Everything from the devastating and polyrhythmic guitar playing to the intense drumming to the suffocating screams. An obvious aspect of the band is their undeniably skillful musicianship.

The guitarists shred everything with their destroying and funky riffs, along with their exotic scales that last for only a breath or two before pushing forward into another assault on your eardrums. The drummer is very interesting and isn’t obsessed with double bass. He is one of the not so many drummers that amaze me without being only super fast. He is fast, complex, intense, and creative. The vocals are screamed, screamed, and then screamed again. Actually, it does let up for a little bit every here and then were the vocalist throws in some whispers, which give the songs another dimension. The band isn’t only good at creating chaotic songs. You’ll notice how great it sounds when they slow it down to a more emotional level on songs such as 'Destro’s Secret', 'Calculating Infinity', and 'Weekend Sex Change'. The band is extremely tight with every aspect of their music, whether it is their not so obvious humor, their songwriting, or their ability to play together well.

Bottom Line: This is an album that obviously isn’t for everyone. Anyone who is interested in heavier forms of music, complex and precise musicianship, or anything out of the norm, I suggest you give this band a try. It will be interesting to see how the band does on their next effort, as it’s going to be hard to surpass this.

Originality: 10
Musicianship: 10
Atmosphere: 9
Production: 9
Overall: 9.5

Rating: 9.5 out of 10