Album Review: ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Our Dead - The Century of Self

Those crazy kids from ...And You Will Know Us From the Trail of Our Dead are back with one less label (goodbye Interscope) and one new album. Number six, The Century of Self, takes us away from the shininess that was Worlds Apart and back to the raw days of Source Tags & Codes. Recorded using a live to tape (that's correct, bet you did not know they still did that these days), The Century of Self has a more original Trail feel to it. Make no mistake however, these songs are just as vast, epic and impressive as you have come to expect from the band.

This album sees the group attempt very little in the new directions department. Good for long-time fans but can also be interpreted as a generally apathetic status. Even the violent musical outbursts in the songs have gotten predictable. But band development is an argument for another day. The usual formula of aggressive, driving melodies giving way to less hard but also less clear bridges is still intact. If something is working, why rock the boat? As stated before, the progressive feelings you got from albums like Worlds Apart and So Divided are largely gone. This is rough, rockin' TOD.

Final Thoughts: The surging, violent rhythms still make fans go wild, but the band's noise rock sound has gotten a little too monotonous after all this time. A solid album from a great group, but no new ground here.

My Impression: