Interview: Greg Puciato Expels The “Ugly Toxic Thing” That Fueled His Darkest Work

Photo by Stephen Odom

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Listen to a Greg Puciato interview on today’s episode of Culture Creature. Listen via the player above or in your podcast provider of choice.

Puciato is best known as the frontman of bands including The Dillinger Escape Plan and The Black Queen. He is preparing the release of a new book of poetry and photography titled Separate The Dawn. The book is due on February 12, and is currently available for preorder via Amazon and Apple.

The material in Separate The Dawn was largely created during the final year and a half of The Dillinger Escape Plan’s career as innovators of sonic aggression. Puciato says that creating the book was “kind of like expelling toxins from your body.” Now he finds himself in a brighter place.

Greg with Dillinger in 2014. Photo by Stefan Bollmann

“I feel better than I’ve felt in my entire adult life right now,” Puciato says. “I know that’s a really weird thing to say. I’m 38, and I feel newer at 38 than I did at 32. My energy feels good. It feels clean. I dunno. All I can say is that there’s a lot of room where there used to be this ugly toxic thing that I had to get out of me. It obviously did a lot for me. It fueled all of the Dillinger records, and it gave me most of the audience that gives a shit about me. That came from all of those things, so I don’t resent [those things], or I don’t wish that they were never there. Just like I’m sure that Mike Tyson doesn’t wish that he was never 22 year-old Mike Tyson – but I’m sure he’s glad that he isn’t now. That’s kinda how I feel. … I just feel open to whatever happens now that I have all this room.”

Listen to the complete Greg Puciato interview on the Culture Creature podcast. You can also check out our interviews with members of Gojira, Code Orange and Faith No More, or view all episodes.