...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead

Plenty of bands like to yammer on about how their newest record is a “return to their roots,” as if some undiscovered brilliance is to be found and resurrected on early demos and basement jam sessions. But in the case of ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead (or Trail of Dead from here on out, because who really wants to type all that over and over), a return to form could be just what the doctor ordered. The band’s 2002 album, Source Tags and Codes, sparked a near universal rock-critic orgasm; after that, how could their two follow up efforts match up? But Trail of Dead is now free men, emancipated from Interscope and ready to reach back to the past while looking forward. “We finally have the artistic freedom we’ve wanted, with no pressure to create radio music, no legal department to OK our artwork, and no A&R people breathing down our necks,” says Conrad Keely, one of two primary and founding members of the band. Although many other labels would have certainly welcomed them, Trail of Dead decided to cement their freedom by starting their own label, Richter Scale Records, as a partnership with Texas-based Justice Records. In October, they released the ... more...