Review: The Dillinger Escape Plan at Metropolis Fremantle

The Dillinger Escape Plan at Metropolis Fremantle
w/ Ho99o9
Sunday, August 10, 2025

Steeped in blood-red lights and fitted in 90s post-apocalypse punkwear, Ho99o9 (Horror) made a statement the moment they took to the Metropolis Fremantle stage—this was not going to be a night of easy listening. The experimental duo, backed only by decks and drums (with drummer Billy Rymer pulling double duty for both Ho99o9 and Dillinger), fuses industrial, punk, noise, rap, heavy grooves, and extreme vocals (through an old-school telephone receiver) that left many screaming for one last song from the Ho99o9 show. They were the perfect opener to the calculated chaos that was to come. 

Fans may not have anticipated the return of The Dillinger Escape Plan after their worldwide run of farewell shows in 2017, but when they burst on stage fronted by their original vocalist Dimitri Minakakis, it was clear that this iteration of the band needed to have its day before they were done. 

The band reformed with Minakakis at the helm to honour the 25th anniversary of their genre-defining mathcore breakout, 1999’s Calculating Infinity, to the pleasure of many in the loyal and passionate fanbase. Minakakis, who had made only occasional live appearances since amicably leaving the band in 2001, unleashed the imposing and ferocious performance of a man you’d never guess had lived life off the stage. The New Jersey quintet had lost none of their edge in the time between tours, with founding guitarist Ben Weinman’s signature guitar thrashing and high-jumping antics still a cornerstone of the show.

Their enthusiasm for their discordant and erratic early material shone proudly in our faces, with the chaos of Calculating Infinity honoured in full, as well as cuts from other early works, including what Minakakis deemed a “cover of a cover”—Aphex Twin’s Come to Daddy (covered by Dillinger on their EP Irony is a Dead Scene, with help from stand-in vocalist Mike Patton).

This highlight led straight into the familiar jarring bars of their forever-show-closer 43% Burnt, giving fans one last chance to let loose before saying goodbye to the version of The Dillinger Escape Plan we didn’t know we needed and that was now leaving us too soon.

JACINDA GARDNER

Photos by Stu McKay