Prog rock group ponders spirituality
Corey Bommel
Issue date: 9/3/09 Section: TruLife
What do a man's spiritual journey, a painting by Salvador Dali and opposites all have in common? They were all inspirations for several albums by dredg. The band's fourth full-length album, "The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion," released earlier this summer, continues to illustrate the members' fondness for concept albums.
Dredg is a four-man band originally from the town of Los Gatos, Calif. They were formed in 1993 by vocalist Gavin Hayes, bassist Drew Roulette, guitarist Mark Engles and Dino Campanella on the drums and keyboard. They began to hone their sound with their early EPs and by the time they released their first full-length album, "Leitmotif," they had begun to establish their experimental style. Each album released can only be described as epic in scale and would be right at home as a major motion picture soundtrack. There is no defining genre to place them, as their sound is highly unique and can only be described as art. In fact, Hayes and Roulette paint as well, incorporating their works into the band's album art and live shows.
Each of the band's four full-length studio albums has followed a theme. "Leitmotif," released in 1998, follows a man afflicted with a spiritual disease on his journey to seek guidance from different cultures. The booklet that accompanies the album tells the story as opposed to the traditional song lyrics. Interscope Records signed the band after the release of the album and re-released it under the new label.
In 2002 dredg followed up with "El Cielo," one of my favorite albums. This time the band drew inspiration from a painting by Dali and the theme of the songs followed sleep paralysis and lucid dreams. Considered by many fans to be dredg's masterpiece, it's one of those albums you have to sit down and listen all at once to fully appreciate. The band's sound grew extremely complex in lyrics and musical arrangement. This CD garnered critical praise and new fans began to emerge.
2005's release "Catch Without Arms" showed a change in direction. Still following concepts, this time opposites divided into two perspectives, the song structures changed. The music was heavily influenced by Interscope and became what many called "radio friendly." The band even alluded to this in the titular track. During this time, dredg also wrote the soundtrack to the independent film "Waterborne."
Dredg is a four-man band originally from the town of Los Gatos, Calif. They were formed in 1993 by vocalist Gavin Hayes, bassist Drew Roulette, guitarist Mark Engles and Dino Campanella on the drums and keyboard. They began to hone their sound with their early EPs and by the time they released their first full-length album, "Leitmotif," they had begun to establish their experimental style. Each album released can only be described as epic in scale and would be right at home as a major motion picture soundtrack. There is no defining genre to place them, as their sound is highly unique and can only be described as art. In fact, Hayes and Roulette paint as well, incorporating their works into the band's album art and live shows.
Each of the band's four full-length studio albums has followed a theme. "Leitmotif," released in 1998, follows a man afflicted with a spiritual disease on his journey to seek guidance from different cultures. The booklet that accompanies the album tells the story as opposed to the traditional song lyrics. Interscope Records signed the band after the release of the album and re-released it under the new label.
In 2002 dredg followed up with "El Cielo," one of my favorite albums. This time the band drew inspiration from a painting by Dali and the theme of the songs followed sleep paralysis and lucid dreams. Considered by many fans to be dredg's masterpiece, it's one of those albums you have to sit down and listen all at once to fully appreciate. The band's sound grew extremely complex in lyrics and musical arrangement. This CD garnered critical praise and new fans began to emerge.
2005's release "Catch Without Arms" showed a change in direction. Still following concepts, this time opposites divided into two perspectives, the song structures changed. The music was heavily influenced by Interscope and became what many called "radio friendly." The band even alluded to this in the titular track. During this time, dredg also wrote the soundtrack to the independent film "Waterborne."
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