On the first day God created Adam and Eve. On the second day He created dinosaurs, and on the third day He made donuts and that inquisitive tootsie-pop owl that became so very famous in the seventies.
And the fourth day, the fourth day may very well have been the most important day of all, because that was the day He helped …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead record their latest album So Divided. Or at least that's what we got out of Genesis.
So few bands know how to infuse the raucus with melody that when one happens upon us, we stand before it dumbfounded and smiling. So it is with …Trail Of Dead and their album So Divided. On the next page we'll give you a valuable play by play detailing all the album's highlights.
But you'd have figured those out for yourself now, wouldn't you have?
The album opens with an instrumental called Intro: A Song of Fire and Wine, it starts out so softly you'll think your iPod is broken, but it builds and builds until its job is done. The best part about it is how it bleeds so perfectly into track #2, Stand In Silence – the finest piece of rock n' roll you're likely to hear from the cradle to the grave. It starts out with these crunching guitars that are sure to fill you with some sort of extreme blood flow, then it slows down. At this point it mirrors the opening instrumental again, and just in time to close out the last minute, the pounding drums and guitars are brought back in. This one is clearly hecklerspray's favourite track (we've had it two weeks, and already it's got 55 plays).
Track #3 is called Wasted State Of Mind, and it too is a fine rocker. From what we can tell it's the first single, and really is a throwback to when rock was good. It's got crazy percussion, and so much background noise it almost sounds like it was recorded in an upbeat machine shop. #4 Is Naked Sun, and has a touch of the blues to it. The end turns epic, with the addition of an orchestra and a powerful chorus. Highly recommendable, really.
Track #5 is a cover song. It's called Gold Heart Mountain Top Queen Directory, and was originally recorded by Guided By Voices. It's a slower tune, but it makes for a nice mid-song on the album. Then comes the title track So Divided. It's another thunderous rocker. The first half is much stronger than the last, but it all evens out well enough.
#7 is called Life, and it's …Trail O' Dead stretching out and experimenting in a very melodic way. We love it. Towards the end a female vocal kicks in singing about rainbows or something. Don't worry, it's Trail O' Dead – they make rainbows sound effing tough.
One of our favourite numbers (no bad pun intended) is Eight Day Hell. It's AYWKUBTTOD doing The Beach Boys. It sounds terrific, and is the closest they've ever come to a 'whimsical' tune. We cannot stress its greatness enough. In the next track Witches Web, the boys pulls out what sounds like folk. It's done with typical flare, and tickles our innards.
Then in comes another instrumental entitled Segue: In the Realms of the Unreal. It sounds like it's got William Shatner mumbling over the top of it. Now we're not saying it is Shatner – it just sounds like him. The tune closes with some OK Computer-esque computer talk. Pretty freaking cool.
And finally, in marches Sunken Dreams. What a way to end an album. Trail of Dead have come a mighty long way since their early days, and this one really drives that fact home. Its got sweeping lyrics over the top of exceptionally lush instrumentation. Songs do not get better that this one. Five minutes of bliss.
And there you have it. As we said in the intro, in the year 2006, this is our top album thus far. It's out Nov 14, and might we suggest you get a taste of it on iTunes – we're quite sure you'll click the 'buy album' button. If an archaic CD store is your preferred route, the lines should be dwindling by next Thursday. You should go then.
Buy So Divided by …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead on Amazon