Back when I was 16, Trail of Dead were suddenly a very big name amongst people I knew. Source Tags and Codes had just come out and people were raving about it; I particularly remember Guy singing it's praises one day at college. I was familiar with Another Morning Stoner but didn't pick up a the album until four years later when I found a copy in a very metal record shop in Vienna. I'd seen them at Roskilde the summer before which I think put their name back in my mind. I remember there being countless band members on stage and enjoying it at the time.
I gradually bought their other albums that were out at the time - Worlds Apart in a very cool record shop in Auckland, So Divided in Resident Records in Brighton, Madonna in Damaged Records in Cardiff and the self-titled one in Kelly's Records. I have a strange relationship with their albums. I didn't get on board with the first two for years - so much so I think the first got relegated to being stored at my parents' house - but I quite enjoyed the two that followed Source Tags. I've read scathing reviews of those albums, but I enjoyed their pomp and grandeur. I can see if you were a fan of the early stuff you wouldn't want that from this band, but I thought it kinda worked.
I then kinda drifted away from the band for a while. I saw them at ATP and got another album but it didn't really click. Then I saw them with Rival Schools in London and I was blown away. They'd gone back down to just four members and barely played anything from those middle album - just early stuff and new stuff. It was incredible; less is more is certainly true for Trail of Dead. Since then I've become a huge fan of the first three albums and rarely listen to the middle ones (I still enjoy them but, like I said, that's not what I really want from this band). I try to see them whenever they play because they're just incredible to watch these days. In hindsight, that Roskilde set just seems so unexciting.
I bought IX in Banquet one day after this revelation. I've not been keeping up so much with their recent albums despite my love for their live show - not sure why. Anyway, I'd not seen their albums on vinyl very much so thought it'd be nice to get this one, and it was relatively well-priced. The Ghost Within and Lost in the Grand Scheme are the highlights on this album for me. Doomsday Book is a strange opener (it's strange that there isn't an instrumental build-up like almost all their other albums) and the way Conrad sings is very odd - the words seem to intentionally slur together. However, the brief transition into Jaded Apostles is lovely and the drums really dominate that songs. Lie Without a Liar has annoying chorus that isn't bad, but that dangerous combination of not good and impossible to get out of your head - I'll wake up in a few days time with that chorus in my head. It's not a strong starting album, but it gets going. The sticker on the front says "If you can't relate [to loss] then you aren't human and deserve to die", which is a tad strong perhaps.
Format: 12", gatefold sleeve, picture sleeves, cd
Tracks: 11
Cost: £16 new
Bought: Banquet Records
When: 26/10/14
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: cd included
