Leitmotif

Dredg | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 11, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Interscope Records
• ASIN: B00005NWLC
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (96 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #146,838 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Symbol Song

2. Movement I: @45 degrees N, 180 degrees W

3. Lechium

4. Movement II: Crosswind Minuet

5. Traversing Through The Artic Cold We Search For The Spirit Of Yuta - Intermission

6. Movement III: Lyndon

7. Penguins In The Desert

8. Movement IV: RR

9. Yatahaze

10. Movement V: 90 Hour Sleep

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important first release from a VERY important band, June 10, 2005

By 

Rubin Carver "The Duke" (Gilbert, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leitmotif (Audio CD)

I found out about this album by pure word of mouth, something that doesn't happen very frequently. This was before El Cielo was released, and Dredg was still drawing Tool comparisons in the internet community. I got it based on a few random downloaded tracks and the supposed similarity to Tool. In the way that both Dredg and Tool are very progressive bands, doing a great service to metal/hard rock by injecting new life into the largely bland and recycled genres, they are similar. However, Dredg is its own monster. Every member contributes a totally unique voice to the sound, and what they've created on this album at least is something equal parts heavy metal and post rock, something just as conceptual as it is incidental.

Leitmotif bears a closer resemblance to Dredg's heavy metal roots than it's big brother El Cielo. There is a lot more heavy edge on this album, which is probably why it appealed to me when I found it in early high school. This heavy edge gave me something familiar to latch onto during a time when it was hard to get anything past me that wasn't metal, but its continuous flow "rock suite" nature intrigued me because it was something I hadn't experianced at this point. More so than the song-based El Cielo, Leitmotif is a single experiance. Every song runs into the next in what feels like a very deliberate manner.

For this very same reason, it's a bit weak on the individual song level. This is of course compared to Dredg's later work, but a song like "Penguins in the Desert" probably wouldn't have the same effect on me without the rest of the album to build up to it. It is, essentially, a nu metal riff with Gavin screaming over it. Still, Dredg pulls it off with the right energy to avoid making it seem cliche.

Another thing is obviously the sound quality. Allegedly this album was self-recorded by the band in something like ten days. The album therefore sounds a bit thin. Gavin's voice, especially, is hurt by the low budget recording session that produced Leitmotif, as he sounds very far away and strained here. I was flabbergasted at how beautiful and pure his voice sounded on El Cielo when it came out, after six months of listening to Leitmotif.

Keep in mind, these criticisms are minor. VERY minor. It may not be El Cielo, but it's still worth every cent you spend on it. "Symbol Song" and "Crosswind Minuet" are staples on any mixed Dredg tracklist and I've never seen a band end a live concert with a more appropriate song than "Yatahaze," arguably one of my favorite Dredg songs period. This album helped set the stage for everything I listened to after it and I insist on anyone who reads this at least giving it a chance.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Where it began (sort of)., January 12, 2004

By 

Erik Pemberton (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Leitmotif (Audio CD)

Despite earlier demos, this is really where it all began for dredg. A step up in lyrical and musical maturity, a step up in song structure and a step up in having a coherent theme to tie the album together as a whole. For those who are well-versed in the band's history, you can see where their past plays in and where their future is hinted at in this album. It plays both sides, it's at times as hard rock as they've ever been, but at other times it's so lush, so amazingly deep that you almost forget you're listening to a compact disc and start to drift off into another world. Somewhere where wise men journey the earth and bring back their knowledge to share with you. Where we are not limited in class, culture, style or creed. Everyone is a part, and yet there is no focused center. It's hard to sum up the feeling of listening to this album in mere words, for this is no straightforward 4/4 radio-formatted rock garbage we're talking about. This is such a strange blend that it's hard to feel like you can do it justice in a "maximum of 1,000 words." They say a picture is worth 1,000 words, and dredg has insinuated that their music is like painting with sound, so how exactly does that all figure out? All I know is that it's an incredible journey for the mind and the heart, and I encourage everyone to take it at least once, with ears and mind wide open.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just when you though you'd heard everything..., December 6, 2002

By 

D (Kansas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leitmotif (Audio CD)

Wow.
Thats a pretty acurate summary of my reaction when the last track of this CD ended. I must have listened to this album 10 or 15 times within the few days of my purchase. That feat in itself is amazing. Rarley does a band capture someones attention so easily without any warning that you cant lift a finger to hit the "stop" button. Who is Dreg? Where in the hell did they come from? Will anyone ever produce music like this again?

To mainstream music listners, Dredg may be a little too "artsy fartsy" or "out there". HOWEVER, if you enjoy music with crushing guitar riffs, smooth acoustic strummings, and even a little piano, you in the right place.

Dredg is like several bands in one. They have no style that presents itself in every song, but you can easily pinpoint a tune and brand it "Dredg". One moment your being carressed by a smooth ly flowing waterfall of sound and all of a sudden, BAM! you have some hardcore stuff going down. Probably the best attribute you can assign to Dredg is change of tempo they induce in their songs. While you can hear it slowly coming, it still takes you by surprise when it arrives.

Dredg can fall into some great beats accompioned by any sound imaginable made by a guitar. Creativity is good in these days, and Dredg is chock full of it.

Been around the block a few times? Think you've heard it all? Well swallow your pride and take a dive with this one. If your a fan of music at all, you'll be won over by this dynamic group.