- Record Label: Richter Scale/Justice
- Release Date: Feb 17, 2009
- Critic score
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- By date
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Sometimes the rigid pattern of power-murk-power gets a little too predictable, but the pleasure of having a Trail Of Dead album that contains mostly good parts and no blind alleys more than makes up for any reduction in ambition.
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The Century of Self is compelling proof that the only way a band as fiercely ambitious, righteous, and single-minded as ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead can do things is on their own.
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This Texas rock combo returns to form on The Century of Self, with producer Chris Coady stepping in for longtime collaborator Mike McCarthy.
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After releasing two albums that bored even its most ardent fans, . . . And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead is back to blowing minds with The Century of Self.
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After the proggy overindulgence of their previous two albums, these Texans gracefully balance the dynamic alt rock of 2002's Source Tags & Codes with their more recent multimovement epics.
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Alternative PressThe Century of Self finds the pride of Austin, Texas, continuing to push baroque prog-rock to orchestral new heights. [Mar 2008, p.112]
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Ultimately The Century Of Self won't trouble the charts and Trail Of Dead's status as a cult act will be assured. But there's enough here to keep their small group of followers very happy indeed.
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The feeling persists that The Century Of Self marks an important moment for ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead--one in which they began to weave together their diverging paths and one that, after all, should be hailed as a victory.
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For the most part, Trail of Dead veer back and forth between styles mined on "Worlds Apart" and "Source Tags," making The Century of Self the strongest of their recent efforts. But it’s still an inconsistent one.
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Conrad Keely’s vocals remain scabby and untreated and there’s still a bit much sonic compression, but the relative rawness adds a subtle flair to this record.
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The Century of Self turns out to be every bit as stubborn as its predecessors, even as it goes a certain way towards justifying them.
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There's early promise of a Dead revival in rocker ''Far Pavillions'' and the epic prog of ''Bells of Creation,'' but the album's meandering second half loses us as it loses itself.
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Trail of Dead's post-major label debut, The Century of Self, may be the Austin institution's most conceptually complete work to date, a post-prog cathedral of mythical mini-epics, though it's by no means the band's masterpiece.
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Texas's Trail of Dead settle into a nice groove somewhere between the two on their sixth album.
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Trail of Dead succeeds here by putting together a collection of songs that accurately reflects the kind of band they have always been. This is still a brash, sweeping, “ring the alarm bell!” brand of music. It’s just not that fun to listen to anymore.
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UncutA familiar sound predominates: an impressive fanfare for a royal procession that never quite arrives. [Apr 2009, p.78]
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Q MagazineTrail Of dead have kept faith with their traditional mix of prog pomp and grunge power for their sixth album. [Apr 2009, p.97]
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No other band could legitimately produce this record without being accused of extreme plagiarism, and perhaps that goes some way to explaining why, despite its shortcomings, it is still likeable.
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As promising as its initial concentration of songs foretells, The Century Of Self suffers from careless sequencing, its tempos haphazardly spooned together and flung like high school portions of mashed potatoes and gravy, slopped into sections of the tray with no real purpose or benefit.
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Self's intense sound feels like much ado about not so much.
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The good news is that this is, in fact, a throwback to their earlier work. The bad news is that it’s not throwback enough.
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Century of Self is at times a stirring, effective rock album, familiar but stable, but the band's general creativity is less vital than they think, and rather than settle down they continue a fussy streak of projects loaded with hollow, stilted ambition.
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Their sixth album enlists Michael Bay levels of volume and grandeur in the service of alarmingly generic, hookless power ballads and plodding prog etudes.
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Under The RadarAny way you slice it, Trail Of The Dead is a sad case in selling out. [Winter 2009, p.68]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 32 out of 37
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Mixed: 2 out of 37
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Negative: 3 out of 37
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Oct 10, 2010
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DavidGMar 22, 2009
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KarenHMar 19, 2009Terrible album, so boring.