Trail of Dead Returns to Rock Origins with 'IX'

“We’re catatonic, we’re catatonic, looking for something new,” sang …And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead members on their 2012 album “Lost Songs.” Though Trail of Dead has experimented with sound in the past, the band’s ninth and most recent album “IX,” while full of its trademark alternative rock fervor, remains largely a nod to its past.

Trail of Dead was founded in 1994 and garnered international attention with its 2002 album, “Source Tags and Codes.” Its primary members are Jason Reece and Conrad Keely, who both contribute drumming, guitar and lead vocals.

The band hinted at its new album with a online jigsaw puzzle in August 2014. Even the elaborate cover art looks back at Trail of Dead’s earlier, more colorful years; intricate and luxurious, it stands in solidarity with the Michelangelo-esque extravagance of 2005’s “Worlds Apart” and the vibrant colors of 2002’s “Source Tags and Codes”, deeply contrasting with stark black and white of 2012’s “Lost Songs”.

Nevertheless, this return to color is not all sunshine and roses; underneath the powerful riffs and shouted lyrics, “IX” touches upon very vulnerable, universal feelings. In a charged statement, Trail of Dead wrote: “This album is about loss and how we've all experienced it. We hope you can all relate. If you can't relate then you aren't human and you deserve to die.”

This thought rings true in the tracklisting, which revolves around the darker, less-discussed parts of life. “The Lie Without a Liar” references Freud’s controversial “id vs. ego vs. super-ego” theory of psychoanalysis and muses about tension and interpersonal interaction. “Jaded Apostles,” inspired by the Apostle Peter, reflects the sense of weariness in perseverance, with the singer screaming himself hoarse with frustration near the bridge. On the other hand, “The Dragonfly Queen” uses simple, rambling lyrics to ask questions about innocence and growing up; to frontman Conrad Keely, the song describes “meeting someone, having a child with them, then wondering how to explain your separation to your child once he's grown up.”

Vivid imagery is also prevalent in the lyricism. “The Ghost Within” uses a quiet chord sequence that repeats like an ocean wave to parallel the difficulty of ending a relationship, evoking the cycle of letting go and coming back. The singer shouts: “And you try to run / but you can’t…. And [the ghost] wants you to let go / and it wants you to come home.” And “Bus Lines,” inspired by the wearying experience of taking the bus in Southeast Asia, elicits the quick blur of the window-seat view with a continuous flow of detailed lyrics: “Realize what you’ve done / listen to a different song / clash to a different drum.” The lyrics eventually are driven by a statement—“feels like something’s taking over”—that evokes the hazy experience of a long car ride.

Also prominent in “IX” is the inclusion of sounds not traditionally used in rock music. Seafaring-inspired “A Million Random Digits” plays into this with its inclusion of a plaintive flute sound, while “Lost in the Grand Scheme” starts with white noise and escalates into a two-minute-long instrumental. “The Doomsday Book” erupts with a rousing intro that recalls crusading into battle. Notably, “Sound of the Silk” transports the listener to the iconic silk markets of Phnom Penh, layering voices and the clack of silk looms into the drum ensemble.

The album’s layering of sound makes for a rich aural experience. “How to Avoid Huge Ships,” loosely inspired by Ender’s Game, is a post-rock instrumental track that, stuck in the middle of the album, makes you appreciate Trail of Dead’s musical talent. It starts off as a simple finger exercise for the guitar that becomes progressively more complex and layered, eventually building into a swelling wave of sound. Likewise, “Like Summer Tempests Came His Tears” begins with a standard chord progression that quickly spirals into surprise dissonance, blending piano intervals with a rubato violin line and a thundering drum that ultimately drive the whole song. It’s done in a way that can only be described as epic.

Though “IX” has its foundations in a steady drumbeat and a strong guitar baseline, these elements sometimes overpower the vocals. This poses a problem—it’s difficult to sing along and fully experience the music if you can’t hear the lyrics. In the long run, the persistent overpowering of the vocals results in an overall atmosphere of vaguely confused excitement. Recognizing one’s roots is often a good thing, but “IX” almost begs for variety. Listening through the album thrusts you into an environment that is constantly thrumming and alive, but exhausting: by the seventh track you might be thinking, “Slow down! Let me savor this.” Nevertheless, while “IX” may leave listeners wanting more, Trail of Dead’s return to its progressive alternative-rock origins sets the stage for more growth and musical development to come.