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

…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead was formed in 1994 in Austin, Texas by Conrad Keely and Jason Reece. They had originally met back when they were young children in Oahu, Hawaii, and had already started and finished a few other projects by the time they found themselves in Austin. They had settled once before in Olympia, Washington so that Keely could study for a degree. He attended classes at Evergreen State College, a nontraditional, experimental liberal arts university with quite an interestng list of former students and staff.

Keeley had formed a band in Olympia called Benedict Gehlen, named after a monk interred at Olympia’s St. Martins Abbey, with bassist James Olsen and guitarist Paul Westmoreland. He also played in another group, Nancyville, while Reece played drums for a queercore band, Mukilteo Faries, a synthpop outfit A Roman Scandal and a group called Honeybucket {name possibly inspired by the song by American experimental “sludge” band Melvins}

They decided to pack up and head south. They settled in Austin playing as Trail of Dead, an alt-rock, post-hardcore duo. Keely and Reece were soon joined by various supporting musicians, and with guitarist Kevin Allen and bassist Neil Busch they released a Self Titled album in 1996. The record was released through Trance Syndicate, an independent label founded by drummer King Coffey of The Butthole Surfers. The label sadly did not survive the turn of the century and folded in 1999.

The band released their next studio album Madonna with another indie label, Merge Records in 1999. This was the first album that saw Mike McCarthy producing, as he would continue to do for over a decade. They quickly gained momentum, moving on to sign with Interscope Records with whom they released the Relative Ways EP in 2001 and the full length epic Source Tags and Codes in 2002, garnering high acclaim.

The band saw some personnel changes with Busch Being Replaced by Danny Wood, the addition of Doni Schrader as a second percussionist and David Longoria on keyboard. So Divided was released in 2006 and the band went on tour. Changes would continue with Aaron Ford replacing Doni on drums. Longoria was eventually replaced by Clay Morris. Danny Wood had quietly slipped away and was not longer coming to rehearsals. He was replaced by Jay Leo Phillips.

During this time, the group had kept busy. They recorded on a soundtrack for a Documentary Film about the developing Roller Derby Scene in Austin titled Hell on Wheels and went back on tour supporting the fictional cartoon metal band Dethklok, Dethklok being Brandon Small’s face-melting death metal creation originally made for Adult Swim. It was a surprising followup after his last program, the cozy classic “Home Movies”.

So Divided had not had gathered the same rave reviews as previous albums. In the time the band had been on tour, with supporting members seemed to be on a conveyor led straight towards the door, Interscope also pulled their support due to lack of interest. With their independence back they had to focus on using their own devices to drum up some optimism and energy. They streamlined their operations and put out an album teaser under their own backing, with Festival Thyme, in 2008. the EP was released through Richter Scale Records “Imprint” via Justice Records (now defunct). This was in preparation for the release of Century of Self, a much more conceptual album that featured a completely rethought attitude towards organization and cohesion.

This new conceptualization paved the way for Tao of the Dead in 2011. Entirely recorded in 10 days and the previous six piece lineup stripped down to four. The album was heavily focused on the instrumental tone and energy, specifically the tuning. The end result is a heavily dynamic and invigorating sound. The album received mixed to positive reviews, mainly middling as we usually see when a band veers more towards a decidedly prog direction. The next album Lost Songs was recorded in Germany and had a much more politically focused message. It was released on Superball Music and received more confident favorable reviews.

In August of 2014, the ninth album IX was announced by way of an online jigsaw puzzle. At the same time Keely announced he had had enough with America for the moment and moved to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It appears he has been there ever since, and upon probing for the sake of research I am met with a sense that the pressure need not be put on answers. He has released his own music with his 2016 debut solo album Original Machines. Having spent twenty-two years crafting their concept, it seems a fitting time to sit back and take a breath.