Imagine rock music as a vast, fecund wetland, the ecology of which nurtures myriad bizarre creatures, hitherto unknown to zoologists. In the wetland's center roost the founding fathers of classic rock and roll. Surrounding them, in various patches of swamp, nest the pop icons, the hard-rock rebels, the punk dissidents, the folk-rock troubadours, the country and bluegrass ramblers, the progressive pioneers and the fusion genre-benders.

Throughout the course of Dreadnaught's fifth album, Live at Mojo, the trio slops and splashes over every square inch of marsh, occasionally spilling beyond the perimeter into uncharted terrain. Indulging in 30 tracks over two discs, totaling almost two hours of music, the CD contains a smorgasbord of musical exotica.

"The more music we make, the less we're able to classify it," said bassist and vocalist Bob Lord. "We might as well try to give a shot of Jack Daniels to a subatomic particle, or to tickle the Sphinx."

An impeccable analogy.

Lord, who is also cofounder and CEO of Red Fez Records, asserted that Dreadnaught's function is to scour the terrain of rock for new sounds.

"We have no interest whatsoever in doing what's already been done; it's a total waste of everybody's time," he said. "I'd rather poke myself in the eye with a sharp stick."

Executive produced by European label Comet Records, the new CD is otherwise purely local. Duncan Watt mixed and mastered it, and Dan Blakeslee provided the cover art. Dreadnaught itself was born on the UNH campus in 1996. Originally a six-piece band, they have transmuted through various manifestations to arrive at their current form as a trio, including Lord, guitarist/vocalist Justin S. Walton and drummer Tim Haney.

It is hard work putting together a double-disc CD. Though most of Live at Mojo was recorded over a single weekend at Mojo Music Studio in Easton, New Hampshire, the production time totaled more than two years. During that time, Dreadnaught made two tours of the United States and produced their 2004 release, Musica En Flagrante. Despite the stress, the band is exceedingly pleased with the results.

"This is 120 minutes of balls-to-the-wall playing from a trio equally influenced by rock, classical, jazz, avant-garde and stand-up comedy," said Lord.

Indeed, the album invokes a colorful amalgam of influences. Though mostly composed of original material, the CD covers songs by the Grateful Dead, Warren Zevon and John Entwistle, plus three from Frank Zappa. (The Zappa covers cemented my approval.)

Many of the original songs on the album have a playful, humorous country twang, similar to Ween's 12 Country Greats. The banter between tracks, nonsensical lyrics and sometimes histrionic vocals also bring to mind Tenacious D. But the members of Dreadnaught have greater instrumental talent than Ween, and much more elaborate composing skills than Tenacious D. The warped, highly spontaneous style of the music belies the meticulous architecture of each song. The same could be said of Zappa, to whom the band pays extensive musical homage.

"Everything is carefully structured and arranged with a minimum of improv, and then we play the holy hell out of the material and rip it to shreds," Lord explained.

Listening to the first track, "Popeye," the band that instantly sprung to mind was Phish. But any similarities between Dreadnaught and Phish are most likely due to the influences they share. The Zappa classic, "Peaches En Regalia," which is covered on Live at Mojo, has also been covered in live performances by the giants of jam. The two bands similarly share a penchant for writing inane lyrics, intended more to add to the sonic texture of the tune than to convey literal meaning.

When asked what kind of message he aimed to send lyrically, Lord gave a blunt answer.

"Absolutely nothing whatsoever. We use vocals much the same way others use a piano, horns or a theremin: as a piece of the puzzle, a sound effect or a complementary component."

Lord believes that the essence of a song's meaning resides in its musical composition rather than its words, and he pointed to the music of Beethoven and Bach as examples. Great musicians can make their instruments speak without words, sometimes whispering, sometimes screaming. It's an acoustical language that jazz gods like Miles and Coltrane intuitively mastered. Dreadnaught strives for the same.

"If you're looking for tortured, emotive, earnest, soul-baring lyrical content, run screaming from Dreadnaught. If you want humorous, oblique, strange-sounding, wry lyrics mitigated by a crapload of instrumentals, welcome home!" said Lord.

Lyrics aside, Lord, Walton and Haney are cream-of-the-crop instrumentalists. My favorite tracks on the album were mostly instrumental: "Nag Champ-a-Laya," "Ballbuster," "Derby Days." These are complex compositions, fulminous rivers of sound with countless tributaries branching off to astral extremities. Dreadnaught is a band endowed with instrumental excellence and inexhaustible creative impetus. Thousands of CDs are released every year, only a handful of which are typically worth getting excited about. Live at Mojo is one of them.

The CD release party for Live at Mojo will take place on Saturday, Feb. 26 at the Barley Pub in Dover.