In no way, shape or form should this band ever feel generic.

“Ireland” comes up next and sounds like a single, but in a bad way. Though dark and dance-y, the track sounds like it could have been a fully worked out song, and instead was left behind. The keyboard heavy effort has perhaps one of the catchiest beats here.

The first instrumental track comes in next with “Drunk Slide”. Catch Without Arms fans will be immediately pleased by the track as it easily matches up with nearly anything from their previous effort. Opening up is “Pariah” which starts off as a quiet introduction to the album, with a group of children chanting before guitarist Mark Engles kicks in with a heavy riff that quickly overshadows all else. These tracks are anything but filler, and some of which are the stronger listens to be found here. Inspired by a Salmon Rushdie poem, “A Letter to the Six Billionth Citizen” (the band wrote the songs for the seven billionth citizen, said to be born around June), the hour long effort features many of what would normally be considered instrumental tracks. The album, however, feels like any other album that take years to put out: over-done and over-produced. This massive 18-track effort is stacked with just about everything, from vocalist Gavin Hayes’s ever soaring vocals to the bands’ constantly changing musical styling. It’s been four years now since California prog-rockers dredg last released anything, but nevertheless, they’re back and with their fourth studio release, the overly ambitious, The Pariah, the Parrot, the Delusion. In a world of short attention spans, and even shorter memories, bands are swept under the rug quicker than cat hair and Cheetos. The same could be said about the long wait between albums.

Dredg