Performer Notes
- ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead: Aaron Ford (vocals, organ, drums); Jay Leo Phillips (vocals, bass guitar); Kevin Allen, Conrad Keely, Jason Reece (vocals); Clay Morris (organ, keyboards).
- Personnel: Jonathan Nesvadba, Anand Wilder, Destiny Montague (vocals).
- Audio Mixer: Chris Coady .
- Recording information: Bubble Studios, Austin, TX; DNA Studios, New York, NY.
- Following a well-publicized dispute with their former label, Trail Of Dead emerges with the fittingly assured THE CENTURY OF SELF. Brandishing a monolithic consortium of 13 heavy-duty, prog-meets-post-hardcore mini-epics, Conrad Keely and Co. unleash an arsenal of searing melodies, dense and doomy riffs, theatrical synths, and masterly production that renders every instrument sounding clean, bold, and crisp. "Isis Unveiling," the album's chief single, is a thesis on what bands from Mogwai to Mars Volta have been aiming toward in the post-punk era's headier 21st-century days. And the LP as a whole is a thorough dissertation on what emo upstarts like My Chemical Romance have strained to attain. But the reason CENTURY may last more than a moment in collective memory is that it's nowhere near as challenging to absorb as it no doubt was to formulate.
Professional Reviews
Spin (p.78) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[S]low-burning ballad 'Luna Park' showcase Trail of Dead at their unvarnished, poignantly roaring best."
Alternative Press (p.112) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "THE CENTURY OF SELF finds the pride of Austin, Texas, continuing to push baroque prog-rock to orchestral new heights."
Billboard (p.33) - "The instrumental opener 'Giants Causeway' sets the tone for an album that's grand in scope and ideas....The guitar-fueled chaos is balanced against piano-led cuts..."
Q (Magazine) (p.97) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "When they soar, as on the turbo-charged 'Isis Unveiled,' the sprawling 'Bells Of Creation,' and the raucously chorused 'Fields Of Coal,' the Texans are an unstoppable juggernaut of heroic widescreen sound."
