...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, 'The Century of Self'

Epic artistic rockers, Trail of Dead return with album 6 and its back to the stadiums.

...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead have been a regular fixture on the underground indie scene since their breakout second album, ‘Madonna’. Blending intelligent lyrics and themes into epic rock symphonies has been their trademark ever since and fans won’t be disappointed by this release, their first since leaving Interscope.

Released - 17/2/09

Label - Richter Scale

6th studio album

...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead’s MySpace

The album begins, like all of their albums, with an instrumental fade-in, ‘Giant’s Causeway’ -combining monstrous build-up with an intriguing, if slightly dark-sounding beat. The piano takes heed as it leads into ‘Far Pavilions’. As you might expect from Trail of Dead, all the titles are not just whimsical but rather inspired by the likes of literature, religion and mythology. Music that was intended for a grander scale, almost like a rock-opera, it is as polished as it is meaty.

‘Isis Unveiled’ actually features a reasonably-catchy guitar riff, reminiscent of something Levellers would do and it’s a religious commentary to boot. A song that is powerful and resounding in its structure with passionately-delivered lyrics, also dipping into an unexpected chant-esque hook.

‘Halcyon Days’ is perhaps a more accessible track, both in name and composition. Again rather dark-sounding, a song of remembrance but of course featuring that mighty build-up expected. There really is nothing wrong with the delivery; it’s just perhaps Trail of Dead should focus their energies into some sort of spectacle rather than a measly record, which doesn’t really do their creativity justice.

‘Fields of Coal’, the only one of their songs wrote on tour is more light-sounding with a rhythmic drum-beat skipping in and out of the track. Again it’s delivered as powerfully as you’d expect and sounds a bit like previous hits such as ‘Rest Will Follow’, just missing that killer hook. ‘Luna Park’ is more instrumentally-driven and showcases singer Conrad Keely’s voice as opposed to being drowned out by the music around him. It is sweet, solemn and simple with just the piano and an air-raid siren-like backbeat.

For similar reasons, ‘Pictures of an Only Child’ would take the pedestal as the finest on this compilation, mainly for the fact that it seems more comfortable in its own simplicity which actually makes the rest seem mediocre in comparison. As Conrad says, it’s personal and it sounds it before exploding into an athemic chorus (dare I say it).

In summary, Trail of Dead is an acquired taste that will seem foreign to your average listener. Epic and mighty tracks delivered over thunderous sound explosions so better-suited to a grander scale. But for what it’s worth, the mellower tracks outshine their heavier brothers in an otherwise unspectacular offering. 6/10 CM