Questions you might wish to ask or want to know about the album:

Where was this album recorded?
At the Sonic Ranch in El Paso Texas.

Do you have any interesting stories about the making of this album?
No.

At what point do you see this album in your career?
This is our seventh album.

Was this a difficult record for you to make?
No, it was dead easy.

How does this album fit in with what is currently going on in music?
We hope it does not.

What were some of your influences in making this album?
Kraftwerk, Rush... I’m sure we’re forgetting one or two.

What is your favorite planet?
Venus. As a kid it was Mars, but now it’s Venus.

Why is the album titled Tao of the Dead?
Jason came up with the title as a pun, because we used the Tao Te Ching as inspiration for lyrics.

That’s interesting, would you like to comment more about that?
Not really, no.

I see you have a different line-up. How has this affected the music?
I could try to explain it with words, or you could listen to the album.

We also noticed you have a different label in the US. Would you like to say something about that?
If something comes up we think you should be aware of we’ll let you know.

At what point do you see your career?
We’re at the sixteen year mark.

Is there a theme or story behind the lyrics of this album?
If answering “yes” means you want me to tell you rather than have you discover it yourself, then, no.

Are you happy with this album?
It’s my favorite one so far.


BIO:

New York, NY – Revealing secrets of their longevity, the core members of ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead – Conrad Keely and Jason Reece – are back with their seventh longplayer. Aptly titled, TAO OF THE DEAD, …Trail of Dead (also lovingly known to some as the band that won't die) come back yet again with a surprisingly forceful yet sophisticated new album that evokes a refreshing nostalgia (paying faithful homage to Pink Floyd, Rush, Steppenwolf, and Neu!...yes NEU!). To retrace their musical steps, the band enlisted longtime friend Chris "Frenchie" Smith (producer of the band's seminal 1998 self-titled LP) to find that blistering sound that pricked up critics ears 12 years ago. We find them also experimenting with celebrated indie producer Chris Coady (Beach House, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Blonde Redhead) on a 15 minute opus titled "Tao of the Dead Part 2." The immediacy of this new album is not to be missed and picks up where 2009's The Century of Self left hardcore fans wondering “what's next?”

To kick things off the label will be releasing the first digital single off the album “Summer Of All Dead Souls” on November 29th…

Formed in late 1994 by singers/guitarists/drummers Conrad Keely and Jason Reece, Trail of Dead has evolved over the years expanding their line-up while still being creatively driven by the core founding members. Friends since childhood, Keely and Reece started playing music in the indie rock town of Olympia, WA and eventually relocated to Austin, TX where they started …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. Their first release was a self-titled album that came out on Trance Records in 1998 and was succeeded by Madonna in 1999 on Merge records. …Trail of Dead toured the US with Superchunk shortly after and in 2002 they released Source Tags and Codes on Interscope Records. Over the next four years the band released two additional albums on Interscope Records – World’s Apart and So Divided before parting ways in the fall of 2007. In the Spring of 2008, …Trail of Dead launched their Richter Scale Imprint and thanks to a partnership in the US with Justice Records and in Europe with Superball Music, their sixth studio album The Century of Self was released in February 2009.

The past two years has seen …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead flourish with the return to their indie roots and with the regaining of their independence. Their last album The Century of Self earned them raves in the press. SPIN gave the album a four star review, The New Yorker raved “…ferocious…a new brand of progressive rock infused with anarchic execution…” and Billboard proclaimed Trail of Dead “…has once again found its footing.” In the Spring of 2010 the band entered a worldwide deal with Superball Music and their Richter Scale Records Imprint. With a new deal in place, Keely and Reece are ready to unleash their latest opus TAO OF THE DEAD on February 7th in the UK and Europe and on February 8th in North America. The band will of course be touring in support of the new album, kicking things off in Europe at the end of March on a co-headlining tour with Rival Schools and then heading out in the US at the end of April. The full tour dates will be announced shortly.