Customer Reviews

leitmotif

5 star:		(73)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Being a huge fan of Tool, I've been looking for other music out there with the same power. I've definitely enjoyed the albums by A Perfect Circle, but I still wanted more.

I was particularly drawn to Leitmotif because of its combination of heavy guitar sounds, string instruments, and piano. The vocals are not nearly as polished as most big bands out there, but they are decent enough. The thing that detracted the most from the album was the pretentious electronika sounds in the filler tracks at the middle and at the end of the album. It feels like Dredg was being annoying on purpose, as if they were playing a joke on their own audience. For an example of good electronika, try Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here. Overall, though, when I just skip over those annoying parts of Leitmotif, the album is awesome. Several of the songs are good enough to get stuck in your head all day.

Ok, I know that this is Dredg's first album and they probably didnt have the budget to have a top notch recording. This album is totally progressive (one long song actually) and shoudld've recieved the progressive recording treatment. progressive are purposely overproduced to enhance the listener's experience, as if they're listening to an epic film being played through music. This is a great album and by all means you should check it out. I have to gribe about the terrible quality of the guitar and vocals on the record however. For a band with this much depth and layer, they shoud've been taken more serious from their label. Oh well. Enjoy

Wow! Dredg is possibly one of the most original, perfect bands in the business. I remember the first time I heard them. I was blown away. I now spend my time looking for live bootlegs. Their music can at times seem very simple, but listen closely and there's some real complexity there. They can jump from one style to another and have it all make perfect sense. The weirdest part about "Leitmotif" is the fact that it is a concept album. It tells the story of a man who is morally corrupt and must search the earth for the cure. And it all flows so well. But I have one warning. Because of this story-telling style, this disc cannot be played on random. The band expertly cuts off and begins songs a few seconds before the end or a few seconds after the beginning of a track quite often, making it hard to listen to on a random mode. This band FORCES you to listen to it straight through and by the time you're done, you will be so thankful for that. It is truly a standout effort.

While having progressed from beginnings as a melodic hardcore-type band, Dredg have definately progressed...to say the least. On "Letimotif" their sound can be more likened to Radiohead than to old school Deftones. The music created on this incredible CD is more than mere music...it's a beatiful expression of art and a passionate display of the human spirit. Musically, Dredg are their own. They sound like no one, and no one sounds like them. Funk, alternative, rock, metal, classical, reggae, emo, and countless other styles make their way into the songs on this CD, and none of the songs sound anything alike. The whole CD is rather like a single song that keeps flowing and changing. As you listen to it, you'll get a different perspective on sound and music than you have before. Overall, this is one of the best CD's I've ever heard in my life. It's right up there with "Aenima" by TooL, "White Pony" by Deftones, "Mer De Noms" by A Perfect Circle, Rage Against the Machine's first album, and "OK Computer" by Radiohead. It's more than a great CD: it is a true form of artistic expression. As someone who has had the immense pleasure of seeing Dredg live, they're definately an experience I'd recommend to any kind of music fan out there. Thou they are still on the underground in CA, they are making a name for themselves throughout the whole U.S. and the world. Be on a lookout for these guys.

Although it took the public (myself included) a little while to catch up, Leitmotif helped establish Dredg as a distinctive force in the frequently predictable rock genre, setting the stage for the even greater triumph to come down the pike a few years later in the form of El Cielo. It's a wide-ranging, impressively atmospheric album that skirts the lines between metal and progressive rock, with the occasional nu-metal element and some decidedly non-rock instrumentation (piano, violin) thrown in for good measure. The album, as others have noted, is essentially one long piece divided into ten tracks, in keeping with prog rock's treatment of the song as an arbitrary concept. Overall, Leitmotif is a pretty dark and often haunting listen, but with more than enough energy and musicianship, not to mention the stunning power of Gavin Hayes's voice, to elevate it above the dull and dreary. Most striking about this album, aside from the band's obviously considerable talent, is the balance it strikes between the band's disparate aspects, especially for a debut. In contrast to much of the standard nu-metal that was becoming fashionable at the time, the sound is refreshingly raw and wrenching, especially in the album's heavier moments, but it never takes away from the complexity and innovation in the songwriting.

The album opens with the awesome, polyrhythmic pummelling of Symbol Song, with Gavin's histrionic (but not at all whiny) vocal outpourings backed by some tricky drumwork and sheets of noisy guitar tension that give way to an utterly devastating main riff in the chorus. Lechium is somewhat quieter and more contemplative, but no less compelling, with a steady build to a cavernous, sweeping chorus (quickly to become a band trademark). The angry, confrontational Penguins in the Desert is a bit nu-metalish for my tastes, but it does make yet another nice showcase for Gavin's vocal range; check out that effortless segue from throat-ripping screams to impassioned wailing in the chorus. Gluing everything together are such disarmingly pretty tracks as the piano-driven instrumental Crosswind Minuet and the acoustic guitar-heavy Traversing Through the Arctic Cold We Search for the Spirit of Yuta, a rather anomalous near-jam piece that sounds sort of like something the Dave Matthews Band might do, except, well, it's interesting. The band saved the best for (next to) last, though, as the storm and stress effect of Yahatze, highlighted by some searing guitar work and epic dynamics that take the song all the way through the emotional spectrum, is a nice setup for its concluding disintegration into screaming catharsis.

In a mere ten tracks, Leitmotif manages to include something for just about everybody, although this it's still not quite the best intro to the band. Those unfamiliar with Dredg should probably check out their flagship work El Cielo first, then move on to this one and last year's intermittently excellent Catch Without Arms. But whatever the case, Dredg are one of the few truly compelling modern rock bands out there, so you owe it to yourself to hear them.

Dredg celebrates music like few other bands. This band from my little California town has been making great music from the time they were in high school. Leitmotif is hands down one of the best albums ever. Though they have made some amazing music before and after this album, Leitmotif personifies this bands capabilities. No song sounds alike and the experimental musical style pays off in a sound that is unforgetable. Simpily put, buy this album and share it with your friends.

This some really creative music. The songwriting is very refreshing to hear in a world of simple, derivative rock music. The album is extremely different, following a full concept throughout about a search for enlighment. The musicianship is outstanding. The percussion work in particular is quite superhuman. You are taken through a maze of mind boggling drum fills and they come one after another. You'd think there was an octopus behind the drum set, or at least some breed of an arachnid. It just seems like too much for four limbs to accomplish. The guitar work is great too. It's the kind of stuff that you don't hear every day. It's creative, melodic but still manages to rock like crazy. Especially Movement II: Croswind Minuet and Penguins In The Desert. Each guitar lick is one intoxicating hook after another. The music also is continuous, there aren't many song breaks. In fact, each track segues into the next. The whole album tells a story and it's an extremely artistic effort. The music is dynamic, constantly changing leaving the listener waiting for the next curve ball that the band will throw them next.
The only problem I have with this album is that the mixing is terrible. You can rarely understand what is being said. I know that the album tells some kind of story, and the only hint that I get at what it tells is from the linernotes. If you want to know what is being said forget about it. It also sounds a little bit distorted in some places. Nevertheless a great album, but I wish that it would have been mixed better.