In the mid-1990s, Minakakis was invited by guitarist Ben Weinman, with whom he went to the same school, to form a hardcore punk group because he "looked like a singer" due to his imposing physique. In 1996, they founded the political-oriented act Arcane along with drummer Chris Pennie. In 1997, Arcane evolved into The Dillinger Escape Plan with the addition of bassist Adam Doll. Both The Dillinger Escape Plan second EP, 1998's Under the Running Board, and their 1999 debut album, Calculating Infinity, developed a much faster and more technical approach to mathcore and became landmarks of that genre, being met with critical acclaim and exerting considerable influence in extreme music circles. Minakakis' lyrics on Calculating Infinity were based on failing relationships and human insecurity. He has stated that people "always interpret them in weird ways". Its album cover was taken from the inside tubes of an old record player from Minakakis' mother. The band's live shows became increasingly aggressive and reckless, with Minakakis starting to breathe fire. Calculating Infinity went on to sell over 100,000 copies, making Dillinger the best-selling band signed to Relapse Records at the time. In 2001 and after tours in North America, Europe and Asia, Minakakis left the band on good terms to focus on his family life and began working full-time on graphic arts and design. Minakakis remains close with the other band members, including vocalist Greg Puciato. In 2004, he laid out the cover artwork for the Dillinger album Miss Machine. He went on to provide guest vocalson the track "Fix Your Face" on the 2007 Dillinger Escape Plan album Ire Works and joined them on occasion to perform it. He also created the artwork for the 2010 Dillinger Escape Plan album Option Paralysis. On December 28 and 29, 2017, Dimitri Minakakis joined The Dillinger Escape Plan for their last two shows at Terminal 5 in New York City.
Collaboration with other artists
In 2003, Minakakis founded and performed a yearlong stint with the defunct band Tokyo with former members of Knives Out from Philadelphia. In 2011, Minakakis became a member of Argonauts along with members of Municipal Waste and Burnt by the Sun. In 2012, he left the band due to scheduling conflicts.
Minakakis' vocal style consists almost entirely of screaming inspired directly from hardcore punk yells. His vocal delivery and also The Dillinger Escape Plan's music, particularly on their self-titled EP, have been compared to Tim Singer and his metallic hardcore band Deadguy. In a 2000 interview, Minakakis cited Rush, The Beatles and Faith No More as his biggest musical influences.
