Dredg
El Cielo

THE REVIEW

This is the second review of 'El Cielo', and it probably won't be read by many…

Nonetheless, for the first time, I feel compelled to sit down and offer an opinion on an album that enriches me more and more every time the laser touches its tracks. Have you ever experienced the idyllic sensation of "discovering" a band, and consequently the standout album of their discography, to then share it with a close circle of music-loving friends? It happened to me, and from this statement, you can understand that this review will not be a "copy and paste" of judgments and criticisms found online, but a summary of the emotions that 'El Cielo' can give to those who will have the patience to dedicate just over an hour of their time.

Where to start? From the regret of having downloaded this masterpiece from eMule and not yet buying it original, given its value... but I will, and it's certainly not the politically correct statement of someone against piracy! First, listen, and then buy. In the working world, you don't buy blind, and artists need to grasp this concept. Well, hungry for new and stimulating rock, about a year ago I searched Google for reviews on 'A Perfect Circle', and I read the name “Dredg” (unpronounceable, I realize.. but sources assure me it’s pronounced “dreg”, with the “g” as in “giorno”) several times and changed my search topic accordingly. Truly positive judgments on the debut “Leitmotif”, praises, and hosannas for the second work, the aforementioned 'El Cielo'.
How could one resist the temptation to try it through peer2peer? I've downloaded an infinity of albums, of which at least 75% were granted only a single listen. But El Cielo… unlike 'Leitmotif', the songs entered my mind like lightning, making me realize I had finally “discovered” a group optimistically “ignored” by the Italian music scene!

Why? For the quality of the vocals, a voice not strained to the maximum endurance of vocal cords as in nu-metal, with the genre's screams and shouts, and not the hoarse tone of new metal (which, let me say, should be buried to not offend the Masters of Seattle..), for the melancholy transcending from the notes of “Triangle”, “Sorry but it’s over” and from the concluding part of the serene “Same ol’ road”. I would bore you if I mentioned them all.
There is a resemblance to A Perfect Circle, and not just in Maynard James Keenan’s vocal quality. There is Passion, Purity, there is Style, there is Heart, there is a desire to offer clean Rock, not hidden by distortions. But at the same time of such an impact as to open one's eyes, while the sweet and hypnotic rhythm changes into an aggression of scratching riffs, and the relaxation with eyes closed seated in an armchair takes a whole different turn. Pink Floydian influence? Certainly in 'Leitmotif', but less so here..

Reflection doesn’t always have to be labeled this way, there are bands that can make just as good a comparison. Radiohead of “The Bends”, but that doesn't quite fit.. Here the serenity of brit-pop does not pervade the album, even if some sweet ballads might recall it. It’s a rock suspended in mid-air, balanced between sadness and anger, never well defined, and consequently, left to the listener. He has the responsibility to create a suitable sound alcove for his emotional state, and 'El Cielo' is undoubtedly capable of projecting us into all of this. Listening to it on headphones while fingers slide over the keyboard, accompanied by a sip of homemade grappa..
The sensation I’m experiencing cannot be transmitted with written words, and if I were capable, I would have found a paying job as a writer!

A piece of advice? Download it or borrow it, there’s nothing worse than paying 20 euros for an album that will end up in your player only once. But if you ended up on this page out of interest in discovering a truly significant band, trust me.. you’ll shell out the cash without batting an eye.