Saturday, October 18, 2014

And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead - “Live At Rockpalast 2009” DVD

Excellent and energetic document of Austin post-hardcorists 

Emerging out of the Austin, Texas post-hardcore/indie rock scene in 1995, …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead have jumped and co-mingled genres as well as any of their peers could ever hope to. I've always considered them to be an anomaly. On one hand, they're as able as anyone to write a clear, clean Beatles-esque pop song. But often, Trail Of Dead tempers that with traces if hardcore and post-rock textures. It's a compelling, if hit-and-miss mix.

This show is a multi-cam extravaganza recorded at the huge Rockpalast Festival in Germany in 2009, and features plenty of instrument-throttling, punchy walls of punk aggression, and lovely piano interludes. Yep, you heard that right. Schizophrenic, maybe, but this show leaves no doubts that Trail Of Dead are masters of their craft. There’s a ton of energy here, and with the superb recording quality, and wide cross-section of songs (including favorites like “Will You Smile Again” and The Giants Causeway”), this is a must for fans.

As well, there’s an extensive bonus section of live and backstage footage from 2005 and 2006, further upping the ante. Needless to say, for anyone interested in catching the raw energy of Trail Of Dead, this DVD is a must-see.




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