After one full-length album, and a handful of EPs, not many bands have the aura of hype and influence about them that The Dillinger Escape Plan do. Yet somehow this band, with their mixture of emo, metal, math-rock and hardcore, have managed to become regarded as giants in the scene after such a relatively short time. Of course, often such hype doesn't translate into good music, and in a few cases, it has even destroyed a few bands. Luckily, The Dillinger Escape Plan haven't imploded from the pressure, on "Miss Machine", but neither is the album as good as some of the publicity might suggest.

The main difference on this album is the addition of Greg Puciato on vocals, replacing Dimitri Minakakis. Puciato is clearly a fan of Mr Mike Patton (who at one time did guest vocals for the band), and his vocal style is very heavily influenced in that way. It's slightly disappointing to have the songs sung by what sounds like a low-rent clone of Patton, but Puciato generally has enough range and talent that he doesn't embarrass himself.

Other than that, it's more or less business as usual for the band. The songs are slightly more accessible this time around, possibly due to the vocalist change, but this doesn't detract from the artistic merit of the music in any significant way. The songwriting is suitably nonfigurative, and the jazz influences that set the band apart in the first place are still all there.

Towards the middle of the album though, the band stop simply recycling their earlier sound, and begin experimenting with some new ideas. Songs like Sunshine The Werewolf leave the sometimes stifling rules of heavy metal behind, and feature smooth sections with airy, sparse guitar lines instead of the heavy, dense formations that are the band's usual fare. Also included are some various electronic noises, which go far and away beyond the dabbling that the band has had with them in the past. What's so encouraging is that nothing here sounds overdone or like the band is trying to force these sounds into their music; everything sounds completely natural, and the way it should be.

Disappointingly, this interlude only lasts for a couple of tracks before the band get back to their heavier, more familiar sounds. While the later album tracks are certainly still okay, they sound a little too confined and limited when you've just heard the band kick things wide open and create some great genre-defying music.

"Miss Machine" is a little bit of an uneven effort, that certainly doesn't live up to all the hype surrounding it. With that said, there are some very promising signs on the album that The Dillinger Escape Plan are capable of breaking free of the niche that they've created for themselves, and creating some great new music that isn't just a rehash of their earlier efforts.