Perfect in every sense of the word - This was the first album I heard from ToD and I was reeled in. Utterly. These are five of the greatest little masterpieces of modern rock with Crowning of a Heart being one of my personal favorite songs of all-time. It is a different-sounding take for them, and they make it sweet, sincere, and beautiful. Intelligence is unique and punching, All Saints Day is a bonafide classic... a must-hear. They all are.And I will know them by the trail of (songs stuck in my) head...
Great EP...wish it was longer! - Trail of Dead released this EP in between Source Tags and Codes and Worlds Apart, and although it was rather hard for me to find, once I tracked it down I wasn t disappointed. It only has 5 songs on it but they re great, from the opening blast of Mach Shau (an obscure Beatles reference....anyone know what it means? I do!) to the almost poppy Crowning of a Heart and All Saints Day. There s even some electronic experimenting with the last track. I wish this was a full-fledged album as I would like to have seen what they could have done in this direction before the epic grandeur of Worlds Apart.
Kids are Hopped Up Now - How do you follow up an album as great as Source Tags and Code? You evolve. And with the EP Secrets of Elena s Tomb that s exactly what the Trail of Dead are doing. Mach Schau is classic ToD. Raw, hard, and intelligent. This song could have been taken off the Madonna album. Not to say it s bad, but this is the worst song on the EP.All Saints Day is a fantastic new song. It sounds like it could have been taken out of Source Tags . It uses the normal soft/hard formula of ToD, but shows a little more advancement. Very mellow as well. One of my favorite Trail of Dead songs.Crowning of a Heart is even mellower than All Saints Day. Think How Near How Far. A great song.Counting Off the Days is a short acoustic song. Yes that s right I said acoustic. It s a fantastic song, just an acoustic guitar and a string backing that adds much warmth and feeling. The vocals fit perfectly as well.Intelligence. This is the bands biggest departure. Other reviewers have mentioned techno, electronica, and dance music in relation to this song. That s all wrong. The closest comparision would be to say it s like ToD doing an incredible cover of a early Nine Inch Nails song. Die hard fans, don t be scared away, this is no namby-pamby electronica. All in all, if this is a sign of where the Trail of Dead will be going with their next album, I m even more excited about it then I was before. Not only that, but this dispels any fear I might have had that they won t be able to top Source Tags. For any fan who wants to see what the next album may be like, or just wants something to tide them over, this is worth your money. For any new fan, get Source Tags and Code and go from there.
sarah s review - this is an awesome awesome album from an awesome band. I m a DJ and Trail of Dead is a staple in my show. I highly recommend this band to anyone who likes grunge, alternitive, or even metal!
Not the Best. Not the Worst. - This 5 track EP isn t really essential, but if you re curious and have 5 or 6 bucks to throw around it may be worth your while. The first track sounds like textbook trail of dead, but isn t all that great a song to tell you the truth. The second song is, again, a textbook trail of dead song, but it seems to hold up better than the first track. The third track, Crowning of a Heart, is a calm reflective piece which sounds like some of the latter tracks on ST+C. Counting off the Days sounds like Trail Of Dead covering a Sunny Day Real Estate (Rising Tide-era) song. The final track Intelligence is kind of a techno-ish departure from familiar Trail of Dead territory, perhaps indicating a new direction being taken on the next album? One of the great pluses to buying this EP is some great enhanced features on the disc which can be accessed by sticking the disc into a computer. Featuring some awesome artwork slides, a couple videos (live and otherwise), and some other little trinkets. Again, it s worth getting if you spot it and are curious, but chances are you don t really need this unless you re a collector.