Tonight I will be heading into the City of Brotherly Love to experience, for the second time, the wonderful sounds of dredg. I first saw them a year ago at the TLA in Philly, and tonight they are playing at the Trocadero. I cannot express how ecstatic I am to see them. They’re my second favorite band, ever (running close right behind Pain of Salvation). There are several reasons why they took the silver out of all the bands I listen to, but the main one is this: their music has meaning.

Not that there aren’t other bands whose music has meaning. ‘Cause there are. Plenty of them. For instance, every song by Blind Guardian (coming in at #4) is about a book. Can you say epic?

But dredg has something else. Each album has some sort of concept. I pointed out yesterday that their album El Cielo focuses on the effects of sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming. On The Pariah, The Parrot, The Delusion they have a song questioning what happens after we die, titled “I Don’t Know”. Their song “Information” from the same album is said to be a conversation to God. Even if you ignore the meaning behind each of their songs, I still think their lyrics are totally awesome.

So have a listen. You won’t be disappointed.