User Score
8.4

Universal acclaim- based on 37 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 32 out of 37
  2. Negative: 3 out of 37

Review this album

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
  1. JanM
    Feb 20, 2009
    10
    This is the best CD Trail has ever released. I absolutely love it!
  2. SteveS
    Feb 24, 2009
    8
    Definitely puts their last album to shame, and is their best all around effort since Source Tags and Codes. Halcyon Days is a great culmination of what Worlds Apart and So Divided were aiming for, but here comes together in all the right ways. The track sequencing is somewhat questionable, but overall this is a very good album.
  3. KevinG
    Feb 26, 2009
    10
    The Century of Self is like a tornado that's picked up all of it's predeccessors and combined them into one giant storm of fury and fun. The rawness of their first three records is there, the ambitious notions of worlds apart and so divided seep through, all the while building on the upbeat wave created on songs like "eight day hell" and "festival thyme". as a fan of all their The Century of Self is like a tornado that's picked up all of it's predeccessors and combined them into one giant storm of fury and fun. The rawness of their first three records is there, the ambitious notions of worlds apart and so divided seep through, all the while building on the upbeat wave created on songs like "eight day hell" and "festival thyme". as a fan of all their albums, i can't help but deem this an early favorite for album of the year. i will never understand everyone's distatste for so divided, and especially worlds apart. the negativity seems to grow with each new release. Expand
  4. IsaacA
    Feb 27, 2009
    10
    This album just grows and grows with each listen - the best album of 2009 so far by a country mile.
  5. SeanG
    Feb 19, 2009
    10
    Highly recommended for any trail of dead fan! It's a culmination of everything they've done so far!
  6. MC
    Feb 21, 2009
    10
    Absolutely solid effort. Cohesive, epic and beautiful - everything that Trail of Dead made their name on. More raw than their last two efforts, but progressive nonetheless.
  7. FrancesC
    Feb 20, 2009
    10
    Well worth all the high scores so far! This is a fabulous mix of their old and recent material. The band sounds very refreshed after parting ways with Interscope, and the album is a lot more cohesive compared to the last album. Standouts like "Isis Unveiled" and "Ascending" bring back their more aggressive punk sound. I also highly recommend checking out the Pogues-esque "Fields of Coal" Well worth all the high scores so far! This is a fabulous mix of their old and recent material. The band sounds very refreshed after parting ways with Interscope, and the album is a lot more cohesive compared to the last album. Standouts like "Isis Unveiled" and "Ascending" bring back their more aggressive punk sound. I also highly recommend checking out the Pogues-esque "Fields of Coal" and the beautiful "Luna Park" and "Insatiable Two" Expand
  8. MatthwC
    Feb 23, 2009
    10
    Nearly a return to their very best. Sounds like it could have been the successor to Madonna or Source Tags and Codes.
  9. SimonE
    Feb 27, 2009
    10
    Awesome. It's disappointing to read most of the main (supposedly well versed in the arts) magazine reviews. By classifying the band as having 'cult status' does not mean that can get away with giving it mediocre marks because 'you don't really get it'. Though I suppose that explains the currently bland & pointless music that is 'the current scene'. Awesome. It's disappointing to read most of the main (supposedly well versed in the arts) magazine reviews. By classifying the band as having 'cult status' does not mean that can get away with giving it mediocre marks because 'you don't really get it'. Though I suppose that explains the currently bland & pointless music that is 'the current scene'. Reviewers such as these make the current scene bands big. Says a lot really.... What you DO need to know, is that despite the backward step in production, the songs are still awesome. A good mix of tunes, with the now expected Conrad piano pieces thrown in for that touch of genius. TOTD ARE Austin, Texas. They ARE weird. And they ARE a welcome sight in the current musical wateland... Expand
  10. C
    Feb 21, 2009
    9
    This album completely floored me. I'm shocked. Their best since Source Tags & Codes and one of the best rock albums of the year so far. This is a group that really picked themselves up and delivered.
  11. TonyH
    Feb 21, 2009
    10
    I was in the minority who actually loves their last two albums as well as source tags, so I may be bias, but this record is really good. The layering of instruments and raw vocals are really good, and the songs are a lot more up tempo like the older stuff. Also this record is balanced from start to finish...Spark one up and put this record on, you won't be disappointed. Record of the I was in the minority who actually loves their last two albums as well as source tags, so I may be bias, but this record is really good. The layering of instruments and raw vocals are really good, and the songs are a lot more up tempo like the older stuff. Also this record is balanced from start to finish...Spark one up and put this record on, you won't be disappointed. Record of the year so far Expand
  12. Cables
    Feb 24, 2009
    7
    goes a long way towards redeeming them. their last album was terrible. this one is much much better. more similar to worlds apart than source tags. it's just refreshing to hear them bring a little musle back.
  13. adamn
    Feb 25, 2009
    9
    To me these guys can do no wrong. I love every album they make. They all bring something new to the table and I'm glad they don't make the same album every time. This is a good mix of their past 3 albums. So there's something for any tod fan to enjoy.
  14. DavidG
    Mar 22, 2009
    10
    In an age of sleepy pianos, predictable hooks, & industry regulators like click track recordings; Trail of Dead have delivered an amazing tour de force that casts off the arms of the record industry, and the hack record reviewers who aren't happy with a record that stands apart from the same ol' same ol'. At SXSW 09' I saw tons of Arcade Fire-esque bands w/10 members In an age of sleepy pianos, predictable hooks, & industry regulators like click track recordings; Trail of Dead have delivered an amazing tour de force that casts off the arms of the record industry, and the hack record reviewers who aren't happy with a record that stands apart from the same ol' same ol'. At SXSW 09' I saw tons of Arcade Fire-esque bands w/10 members on stage doing very little. I long for the days when more bands sound like TOD. Collapse
  15. Oct 10, 2010
    9
    They show glimpses of the kind of band they were ST&C era but it is the regained confidence that shines through. No-one writes music like these guys now. Biggest criticism is the track layout, 'Insatiable 1' and 'Insatiable 2' are lost instrumentals that make the second half of the album unbalanced and slightly weaker than the first. 'Luna Park' and 'Halcyon Days' are personal favourites.They show glimpses of the kind of band they were ST&C era but it is the regained confidence that shines through. No-one writes music like these guys now. Biggest criticism is the track layout, 'Insatiable 1' and 'Insatiable 2' are lost instrumentals that make the second half of the album unbalanced and slightly weaker than the first. 'Luna Park' and 'Halcyon Days' are personal favourites. Overall, it's a very strong 'comeback' album. Whatever they do now will surely be amazing. Expand
Metascore
68

Generally favorable reviews - based on 24 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 24
  2. Negative: 1 out of 24
  1. 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.
  2. This Texas rock combo returns to form on The Century of Self, with producer Chris Coady stepping in for longtime collaborator Mike McCarthy.
  3. 40
    Their sixth album enlists Michael Bay levels of volume and grandeur in the service of alarmingly generic, hookless power ballads and plodding prog etudes.