Here is a short review of the new Dredg album, El Cielo (Spanish for The Sky). If you have heard Leitmotif, their first concept cd release, then you are already familiar with their style. Dredg has a singer with little boundries, articulate, yet hard drumming, wavy, shimmering guitar, and solid bass that serves as a good background. Both of these cds are worthy of purchasing, but the newest has improved songwriting and musicianship. Dredg's "sound" is progressive: guitar rhythms creating a wall-of-sound backdrop, melodic singing, and experimental usage of unique instruments. El Cielo was recorded at Skywalker Ranch Studios, San Francisco, which is owned by George Lucas and features extremely good sound quality. The group hails from California, and has toured with Papa Roach, Deftones, Hot Water Music, Sparta and Alien Ant Farm in the past. El Cielo is their debut on Interscope records, the previous Leitmotif being released on Island.

Tracklist is:

01. Brushstroke: Dcbtfoabaaposba 0:57
02. Same Ol' Road 5:14
03. Sanzen 4:34
04. Brushstroke: New Heart Shadow 1:33
05. Triangle 5:03
06. Sorry But It's Over 4:08
07. Convalescent 3:32
08. Brushstroke: Walk In The Park 1:40
09. 18 People Live In Harmony 4:28
10. Scissor Lock 3:23
11. Brushstroke: Reprise 1:33
12. Of The Room 3:44
13. Brushstroke: An Elephant In The Delta Waves 1:47
14. It Only Took A Day 3:16
15. Whoa Is Me 5:36
16. The Canyon Behind Her 6:40

Website: http://www.dredg.com

Packaging: 8/10. There was a limited edition packaging with clouds on the cover, it looks very cool. Unfortunately, mine is the regular release. The packaging is really original looking, though. It has a brown, aged leather look to it. The artwork kind of leans toward an aged scrapbook in my eyes. The cd cover booklet merely reads "dredg el cielo." On the back, the tracks are printed in a handwritten, scribbled fasxhion much like a set list.

Music: 10/10. El Cielo is a longer album than Leitmotif. Just like Leitmotif, every song on El Cielo is amazing, very memorable. You have to listen to the whole thing to get the full picture. El Cielo has the edge on song structure, however. There is more of a consistency, a unified "sound" this album has. Instrumentals are intertwined with the songs, just as they were on Leitmotif. The difference between Leitmotif deals with how there aren't a few "heavy rockers" added at the end. The album flows really natural sounding. This followup has been anticipated for four years by old-school dredg fans(Leitmotif came out in 1998, re-released in 2001) and will not disappoint. The heaviness of the album is never exceeds the song ‘Yatahaze’ off the first album, and tends to be a little smoother, more defined than Leitmotif. It doesn’t really get as intense as Leitmotif's hardest song, ‘Penguins in the Desert’, the album in comparison shows a more calm and less moody dredg. An album that sounds this well deserves purchasing! I got mine off half.com, which is usually the cheapest place (besides ebay, if ya wanna wait). If you liked Leitmotif, El Cielo will interest and amaze you. This album is definitely a step ahead of Leitmotif, and a musical progression into new territory.



Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Hanging With Friends