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

And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead: Conrad Keely, Jason Reece, Kevin Allen, Neil Busch.
Producers: And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Chris Smith.
Recorded at Stardog Studios, Lone Wolf Studios, Bubble Studios, Austin, Texas in July 1997.
The rapid rise of Austin's instrument-demolishing . And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead began with their self-titled debut, a raw demonstration of creativity and ambition that foreshadowed their major-label triumph, SOURCE TAGS AND CODES. Too burly to be quite labeled indie rock and too restlessly inquisitive to be strictly post-hardcore, the music is an anthemic racket, at once majestic like Sonic Youth's DAYDREAM NATION and gritty like a basement party punk act. "Fake Fake Eyes" is an outdoor festival-sized monster of a song that rattles along with uncontained energy, and "Ounce of Prevention" is pure nervous propulsion and pounding intensity. Quieter moments like "Novena Without Faith" draw tension from the slow build of guitars and whispered vocals for over eight minutes. They would go on to record much bigger albums with explosive sonic color palates, but the blueprint for their all-out assault on rock was drawn here.