Leitmotif, released in 1999 by Los Gatos, California quartet Dredg, is a concept album exploring themes of identity and time. The album blends elements of alternative rock, progressive rock, nu-metal, and post-hardcore, showcasing the band's skillful versatility, drawing comparison to fellow California bands Tool and Deftones. With its intricate instrumentations and dynamic shifts, Leitmotif takes listeners on an emotive musical journey through its narrative arc. Where the band runs into trouble is in the indulgences, stretching out noisy outros or delayed intros far too long, and ending on an unnecessary jam below their skill set. What looks like an album quickly shrinks to something more like a long EP, missing a few tracks that focused on their talents instead of their experimentation.