The final lineup also included longtime members Liam Wilson on bass, Greg Puciato as lead vocalist, and Billy Rymer on drums, alongside then-newcomer Kevin Antreassian on rhythm guitar.

Arcane was an aggressive, political-oriented act formed in 1996 by vocalists Dimitri Minakakis, Brad McMahon, guitarist Ben Weinman, bassist Bruce Fulton and drummer Chris Pennie.

[7] Shortly before signing, the Under the Running Board demo was shown to some friends, one of whom was Jesuit vocalist and guitarist Nate Newton who was impressed with their musical proficiency and invited The Dillinger Escape Plan to an American and Canadian tour with them and Botch.

[5][28] These tours were replete with injuries; in late 2004, guitarist Benoit suffered nerve damage (brachial plexus neuritis) in his left hand, and other than a short return to the stage in 2005, he has not played with the band since.

In 2005, the band was forced to drop out of Dave Mustaine's "Gigantour" slightly early due to a rotator cuff injury and fractured vertebrae Weinman had sustained performing in Anaheim, California at all-ages venue Chain Reaction.

[40] Among the drummers considered to handle drum duties were Morgan Ågren and Sean Reinert, but the band decided to choose the relatively unknown Gil Sharone of Stolen Babies by the suggestion of Chris Hornbrook.

The group also played its first shows in Malaysia and Bangkok, as well as their first South American performance, headlining the second stage on the first night of the prestigious Rock al Parque festival in Bogota, Colombia.

The band released their fifth studio album, One of Us Is the Killer on May 14, 2013 through Party Smasher in partnership with various labels around the world, including BMG for Europe, Grind House for Japan, Remote Control for Australia and Sumerian Records for North America.

[80] Puciato tore a quadriceps, which he did not treat immediately, and later revealed that he began to suffer from serious mental health issues during this tour, including panic disorder and hypochondria, but following the accident his symptoms became "almost unlivable" and had to receive treatment.

John Adamian of the Hartford Courant classified Dillinger as "a kind of knotted, complex, abrasive math rock", as well as "prog metal that embraces an avant-garde level of coiled and meshed intricacies.

"[122] AllMusic writer Ryan Downey describes the group as "maniacally intense", "crushingly metallic", "displaying rigorous physical endurance", while at the same time notes their "precise musicianship" and "meticulously thought-out" compositions.

"[122] After Calculating Infinity, they constantly incorporated new sounds and other styles, "even commercial ones", as Andrew Earles of Spin said, and their albums became "packed with the sometimes brutal, sometimes beautiful music only they play" that "skids from grindcore to progressive jazz and beyond".

[6] He felt that many of its bands were trying to sound like their predecessors from the previous decade rather than "encompass the[ir] attitude", which influenced him deeply,[6] and others were more interested in "joining into cliques" such as straight edge, religious or political groups, instead of prioritizing their music.

[131][132] From then until their first studio album, Calculating Infinity, they explored more unconventional drum patterns, such as taking notes away to expand their rhythms, or Pennie playing as hard as he could and using china cymbals excessively instead of splashes.

[6][136][137] The groundbreaking 1999 debut created a huge hype, but the band members gained an interest on melodic songwriting and production along the way, and also wanted to fully explore their electronic influences.

[138][139][140] Looking to cover all their musical influences and both Minakakis and Patton's ranges, the band hired Greg Puciato, whose vocal delivery spans styles from screaming to crooning, and he was encouraged to sing by the other members.

[100][128][155] What tied all the band members together was their admiration for progressive and jazz fusion artists such as King Crimson,[153] Cynic,[102] Meshuggah and Mahavishnu Orchestra, particularly their albums Discipline,[131] Focus,[156] Destroy Erase Improve[150][157] and Apocalypse[158] respectively.

[139] Between the period of writing and promoting Calculating Infinity, 1997's OK Computer by Radiohead had an important effect on Ben Weinman, whereas 1998's Psyence Fiction by Unkle and 1999's The Fragile by Nine Inch Nails influenced Chris Pennie.

[168] The songwriting process of The Dillinger Escape Plan usually started with Weinman's guitar ideas and, especially since Ire Works,[6] software' rhythms or sound design that he presented to the drummer.

[28] Usually, Liam Wilson was the last member to compose due to the suggestion of producer Steve Evetts, who is also a bassist, in order that he could counterpoint with any instrument, including Puciato's vocals and the electronics.

[172] The recording sessions were often described as exhausting because the members tracked sections in a way they thought were fine as the final take, but Evetts made them repeat some of these a large number of times until it sounded "like a Pro Tools copy-paste", yet without the use of audio effects.

[180][181] The band's turning point came in 2001 with the new vocalist Greg Puciato, whose imposing body and destructive antics, coupled with his vocal expertise, made him "the perfect physical embodiment of The Dillinger Escape Plan's music.

[187] At the 2002 edition of the prestigious Reading Festival, the Dillinger Escape Plan's performance made national United Kingdom headlines after vocalist Greg Puciato defecated in full view onstage, put it into a bag, and threw it into the crowd before smearing the rest onto himself, proclaiming "This is a bag of shit, I just wanted to show you this so you'll recognize it later on throughout the day" referring to the quality of some bands he felt were appearing that day of the festival, particularly Puddle of Mudd.

[191][192] During the first years, both were in charge of the financial affairs of the band, scheduled tours by calling all their phone contacts, rented and booked transport, and placed flyers printed by Weinman on the walls of New Jersey.

[28] They were vocal about their dislike for styles such as nu metal and mainstream metalcore of the early to mid-2000s,[18] as well as mocking musicians such as Jared Leto,[202] Nickelback,[203] Puddle of Mudd,[156] Disturbed,[18][204] Avenged Sevenfold,[18][205] Atreyu,[18] and Linkin Park.

[165] The Dillinger Escape Plan did several charity concerts and sold merchandise with a portion of their profit's toward philanthropic organizations, including Music for Relief,[209] the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation,[210] The Trevor Project,[211] among others.

[212] On one occasion, The Dillinger Escape Plan rejected a tour slot with thrash metal group Slayer in spite of being fans of them,[18] because their lyrics and imagery regarding Nazism were "questionable" and "never ... sufficiently explained" to Weinman, who had relatives that were murdered in the Holocaust.

"[214] Drowned in Sound's Ben Patashnik declared in 2007 that Dillinger is one of the few bands to have "emerged from small, insular, resolutely non-mainstream scenes" and at the same time "managed to reach well further than one might reasonably think possible.

The AIM Awards judge and Metal Hammer editor Merlin Alderslade said: "The Dillinger Escape Plan aren't only one of the most influential heavy bands of the last 20 years, but one of the single most important forces to ever grace our scene.

From their genre-shredding albums that have gone on to inspire legions of bands to their now legendary live shows, they have trail-blazed their way through an incredible career that has united alternative music fans from all walks of life.