…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead

Festival Thyme EP

[3.5/5]

Few bands have fallen out of favor with critics harder than Trail Of Dead. Their 2002 breakthrough Source Tags & Codes received lavish praise (a perfect 10.0 from online tastemakers Pitchfork), but a pair of harshly criticized albums followed. The Festival Thyme EP offers a peek at what’s to come in 2009 from the Texas group, with "Bells Of Creation (Machete Mix)" confirming they’re not budging from their patented brand of symphonic rock. While piano is the song’s primary instrument, the band pile on mountains of guitars and waves of pulverizing percussion (always their secret weapon). It’s also the greatest song they’ve written since anything from Source Tags. The chorus brings back the reasons why so many believed Trail Of Dead to be the swaggering saviors of rock ’n’ roll. It’s a sizzling cauldron of rock magic, grand in sound and scope. The other songs aren’t quite as compelling, though "Inland Sea" is a satisfying epic of Gilgamesh proportions. (RICHTER SCALE) Casey Boland