... And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead

Released through their own Richter Scale imprint, Trail of Dead’s sixth album feels like a re-affirmation of self and constitutes their best effort since 2002’s Source Tags and Codes. Balancing brutally surging anthems and gorgeously climaxing, textural epics, the Austin sextet explodes at the outset, strewing mythic carnage across the heart of the album with the trifecta of “Isis Unveiled,” “Halcyon Days” and the prog-tinged “Bells of Creation.” The melodic rushing grit of “Fields of Coal” is a classic-sounding highlight, and the shimmering ballads “Inland Sea” and “Luna Park” present compelling respites. Though The Century of Self falters a bit between backside bookends “Insatiable (One)” and “Insatiable Two,” Trail of Dead have returned to form and are “So Divided” no more.