Album Review: …And You Will Know Us By the Trail Of Dead – X: The Godless Void and Other Stories (InsideOutMusic/Dine Alone Records)

Five years on from the release of their previous record, Austin’s art-rock punk mothertruckers …And You Will Know Us by the Trail Of Dead return with their tenth album – X: The Godless Void and Other Stories – set for release on January 17, 2020 via InsideOutMusic in Europe and Asia and Dine Alone Records in North America, Australia/New Zealand.

The times…they sure have changed. Yet some bands haven’t just rode the waves of change and eeked their survival out. They’ve adapted and by doing so have remained a force in the rock and metal scene. One such band is …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead.

Triumphantly arriving on their tenth album with The Opening Crescendo, it’s a bombastic and somewhat defiant start. As if the band are declaring in no uncertain terms that they are back and here to stay.

A major part of the band’s appeal and staying power is how they often subvert expectations. Creating unusual melodies, complex direction changes, manic rhythms and catchy choruses. It’s all of this and more that turns All Who Wander into a thrilling listen whereas Something Like This challenges the mind with dream-like vocals doing battle with deeper and fuzzier guitars.

The tempo is hot as hell for Into the Godless Void, a bit more of a straightforward head-banger. Which makes the following Don’t Look Down and its mellow tune a bit more palatable even if it’s pop-punk at its most average.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwPvnMdAXyA

Happily, what makes …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead special returns with a passion. Gone, Children of the Sky and Who Haunts the Haunter showcasing the wide array of rocking oddities that the band exemplify. The latter is easily one of the album’s strongest tracks.

A short break from the expansive efforts with Eyes of the Overworld’s moodiness leads into the album’s final efforts. The attractive and melodic Gravity, one of the more stripped back efforts here. The mind-bending Blade of Wind, the rhythm building in volume whereupon it reveals some intriguing secrets. All before Through the Sunlit Door sells the feeling of emerging into a wonderful sight of brightness and warmth.

Proving that they are still able to produce unique and interesting music, …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead have really delivered on their 10th album.

…And You Will Know Us By the Trail Of Dead – X: The Godless Void and Other Stories Full Track Listing:

1. The Opening Crescendo
2. All Who Wander
3. Something Like This
4. Into the Godless Void
5. Don’t Look Down
6. Gone
7. Children of the Sky
8. Who Haunts the Haunter
9. Eyes of the Overworld
10. Gravity
11. Blade of Wind
12. Through the Sunlit Door

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