Tao of the Dead
Tao of the Dead | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | February 4, 2011#Release history)[1] | (|||
Recorded | Summer 2010 at Sonic Ranch, El Paso, Texas | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 52:22 | |||
Century Media | ||||
Producer | Chris "Frenchie" Smith, Chris Coady[2] | |||
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead chronology | ||||
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Tao of the Dead (pronounced
Background and recording
Tao of the Dead was recorded in ten days. The band stripped down to its core four-piece lineup for the record, deviating from the past two records that featured a filled-out six-piece band. This resulted in a stripped-down record with heavy emphasis on guitar. It is a two-part record, each side with a specific musical tuning; Part I in D and Part II in F.[4]
The album can be listened to as 16 different
Cover art and packaging was revealed over a six-day period in December on www.taoofthedead.com, designed by Conrad Keely.[9] When asked in an interview about the title, Jason Reece responded, "It's kind of an impolite joke. We had a Tao Te Ching at the studio and used it as a lyrical reference tool. I said, 'Why don't we call the record "Tao of the Dead"?' It sounds like we're a bunch of pompous assholes. 'Oh yes, we're going to give you the meaning of life here.' Which is really not true at all...We're not Taoists by any means but it's really nice to use some of the text as daily inspirational things to live by. But we read everything. So the "Tao" is just as meaningful as Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer, which is probably just as Taoist, just with a little more sex."[10]
The first 11 tracks on Disc 2 of the Deluxe Edition are each longer than their correspondent on the standard version, some more significant than others. The songs are mainly the same but have longer fade outs, or extra effects at the end, and sometimes extended intros as well.
Track listing
All lyrics written by Conrad Keely; all music composed by ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Introduction: "Let's Experiment" | 2:23 |
2. | "Pure Radio Cosplay" | 5:26 |
3. | "Summer of All Dead Souls" | 4:17 |
4. | "Cover the Days Like a Tidal Wave" | 2:51 |
5. | "Fall of the Empire" | 2:27 |
6. | "The Wasteland" | 2:33 |
7. | "Spiral Jetty" | 1:48 |
8. | "Weight of the Sun (Or the Post-Modern Prometheus)" | 2:19 |
9. | "Pure Radio Cosplay (Reprise)" | 3:18 |
10. | "Ebb Away" | 2:41 |
11. | "The Fairlight Pendant" | 5:43 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
12. | "Strange News From Another Planet"
| 16:32 |
Total length: | 52:22 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Part I: Tao of the Dead" | 35:50 |
2. | "Part II: Strange News From Another Planet" | 16:32 |
Total length: | 52:22 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Introduction: Let's Experiment" | 2:59 |
2. | "Pure Radio Cosplay" | 6:06 |
3. | "Summer of All Dead Souls" | 4:20 |
4. | "Cover the Days Like a Tidal Wave" | 3:08 |
5. | "Fall of the Empire" | 2:38 |
6. | "The Wasteland" | 2:42 |
7. | "Spiral Jetty" | 2:04 |
8. | "Weight of the Sun (Or, the Post-Modern Prometheus)" | 2:30 |
9. | "Pure Radio Cosplay (Reprise)" | 3:39 |
10. | "Ebb Away" | 2:58 |
11. | "The Fairlight Pendant" | 5:50 |
12. | "The Bubble Demo" | 33:00 |
Total length: | 1:11:54 |
Release history
- February 4, 2011 GERMANY / AUSTRIA / SWITZERLAND / BENELUX / ITALY
- February 7, 2011 UK / FRANCE / GREECE / DENMARK / NORWAY / REST OF EUROPE
- February 8, 2011 SPAIN / PORTUGAL / NORTH AMERICA
- February 9, 2011 SWEDEN / FINLAND / HUNGARY[11]
Reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Pitchfork Media | 7.2/10[15] |
PopMatters | [16] |
Rolling Stone | [17] |
Spin | 7/10[18] |
Sputnikmusic | [19] |
Tiny Mix Tapes | [20] |
USA Today | [21] |
Tao of the Dead received a score of 73 out of 100 at review aggregator
Paul Thompson of
Other reviews are very average or mixed: The Austin Chronicle gave the album three stars out of five and stated, "The locals' penchant for grandiose concepts and elongated immolation remains, but part one of Tao avoids letting the song cycle run away with the songs."[32] Uncut also gave it three stars and stated that "Despite the epic pretensions of the 16-minute finale, 'Tao Of The Dead Part Two", sadly, this sort of tribute to rock's historical hinterlands yields fewer surprises each time."[22] Mojo likewise gave it three stars out of five and said that the album "hits a sweet spot between prog and power-chords."[22] Dusted Magazine gave it an average review and said it "makes me, by turns, want to improve my attention span and want to listen to something else."[33] Now gave it three stars out of five and said it was "such a cohesive record that when the second track, Pure Radio Cosplay, is reprised midway through, it seems like the end of an intense musical detour rather than a simple replaying of the song."[34] Beats Per Minute gave it a score of 52% and stated that the album "sounds reaching, like the band is lost and looking desperately for an audience and a voice. I hope they start looking somewhere else."[35] Slant Magazine only gave it two stars out of five and stated, "I can't imagine why anyone would want to hear another half-hour of this crap, but if you've got brain cells to spare after Tao of the Dead's wonky, caterwauling sendoff, then by all means, put on your +2 Boots of Moshing and get to it!"[36]
Chart performance
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2011) |
Chart (2011) | Peak position |
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German Albums Chart[37]
|
18 |
See also
References
- ^ a b "Trail of Dead Announce New Record". Pitchfork. 2010-11-10. Retrieved 2010-11-16.
- ^ Andrew Winistorfer (2010-11-11). "Trail Of Dead Announce New Album". Prefixmag.com. Retrieved 2010-11-16.
- ^ "Tao Te Ching Pronunciation Guide". Truetao.org. Retrieved 2011-02-17.
- ^ a b c "EXCLUSIVE: New Trail of Dead Song!". SPIN.com. Retrieved 2010-11-16.
- ^ "Trail of Dead – Summer Of All Dead Souls by Superball Music on SoundCloud – Create, record and share your sounds for free". Soundcloud.com. 2010-12-03. Retrieved 2011-02-17.
- ^ "Summer of All Dead Souls – Single by ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead – Download Summer of All Dead Souls – Single on iTunes". Itunes.apple.com. 2010-11-29. Retrieved 2011-02-17.
- ^ Bruce Kyle Matlock (2010-11-10). "...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead ready new album, Tao of The Dead « Consequence of Sound". consequence.net. Retrieved 2010-11-16.
- ^ "And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – Tao Of The Dead (US 2CD Digipak)(Double CD) – $15.00". Cmdistro.com. 2011-02-08. Archived from the original on 2011-02-01. Retrieved 2011-02-17.
- ^ "AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD: LAUNCH COVER-REVEAL-PAGE FOR THE UPCOMING ALBUM – TAO OF THE DEADБ –". Superball Music. 2010-12-17. Retrieved 2011-01-03.
- ^ "Trail of Dead's 'Tao' Inspired by Public Enemy and Mexican Drug War". Spinner. Retrieved 2011-02-17.
- ^ "AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD: new full length album "TAO OF THE DEAD" set for European release on February 7th, 2011; First Single – Summer Of All Dead Souls – due out November 29th". Superball Music. 2010-11-11. Retrieved 2011-01-03.
- Allmusic. Retrieved 2011-03-17.
- ^ Martins, Chris (2011-02-08). "...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead: Tao Of The Dead | Music | Music Review". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2011-03-17.
- ^ Wood, Marie (2011-02-08). "And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – Tao of the Dead". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 2011-02-13. Retrieved 2011-03-17.
- ^ Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2011-03-17.
- ^ Tebo, Daniel (2011-02-11). "...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead: Tao of the Dead". PopMatters. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
- ^ Keyes, J. Edward (2011-03-10). "Tao of the Dead". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
- ^ Goodman, William (2011-02-08). "...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, 'Tao of the Dead' (Richter Scale)". Spin.
- ^ Rudy K. (2011-02-08). "Review: And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead – Tao of the Dead". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 2011-03-17.
- ^ Embling (2011-02-07). "And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead – Tao of the Dead | Music Review". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 2011-03-17.
- ^ Gundersen, Edna (2011-02-07). "And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Tao of the Dead". USA Today. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
- ^ a b c d e "Critic Reviews for Tao of the Dead". Metacritic. 2011-02-08. Retrieved 2011-03-17.
- ^ Falcone, Jon (2011-02-07). "...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – Tao Of The Dead". musicOMH. Retrieved 2011-03-17.
- ^ Patashnik, Ben (2011-02-01). "...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – Tao Of The Dead". Rock Sound. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
- ^ Reed, Ryan (2011-02-09). "...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead: Tao of the Dead :: Music :: Reviews". Paste. Archived from the original on 2011-02-10. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
- ^ Rodriguez, Juan Edgardo (2011-02-05). "...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead: Tao of the Dead". No Ripcord. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
- ^ Burkett, Stephanie (2011-02-03). "Review of ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead – Tao of the Dead". BBC Music. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
- ^ Westle, David (2011-04-06). "Album Review: ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – Tao Of The Dead (Century Media)". NME. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
- ^ Sullivan, Matt (2011-02-08). "...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead: Tao of the Dead". American Songwriter. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
- Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
- ^ Garner, Marty Sartini (2011-03-11). "Reviews – ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead (Tao of the Dead – Richter Scale/Superball)". Filter. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
- ^ Beets, Greg (2011-02-04). "...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead: Tao of the Dead (Richter Scale / Superball Music)". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
- ^ Becker, Daniel Levin (2011-03-23). "Dusted Reviews: ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead – Tao of the Dead". Dusted Magazine. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
- ^ Huffa, Joanne (February 10–17, 2011). "...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – Tao Of The Dead". Now. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
- ^ Cosores, Philip (2011-02-15). "Album Review: ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead – Tao Of The Dead". Beats Per Minute. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
- ^ Cole, Matthew (2011-02-03). "...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead: Tao of the Dead". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
- ^ ""Good News": Lena neue Nummer eins – media control". Media-control.de. Retrieved 2011-02-17.