New masterpieces from Death Angel and Forbidden. Soon from Flotsam & Jetsam. Thrash festival with Death Angel, Exodus and Kreator. Mille Petrozza seemed happy to celebrate a quarter-century of this music he worships. So did I! I extend the pleasure to other kinds of metal, and enjoy now latest peace offerings from Atheist, Star One or Cradle of Filth.
Let us not stop the variation and focus on A.Y.W.K.U.b.t.T.o.D., the creation of Conrad Keely and Jason Reece, two childhood friends who grew up in Hawaii, played in own bands in Olympia, Washington State, formed in late 1994 what we can abbreviate as "Trail of Dead" in Austin, Texas. I read Conrad moved recently to New York City...
So a band geographically from the United States of America, but with one ear turned toward the other side of the Atlantic Ocean and the British Progressive-Pop-Rock-Psychedelic (Pink Floyd here, The Who there, and many more), and the other ear toward the other side of the Northern border and Rush. Some prestigious ghosts are flying other "Trail of Dead" like Rick Wright, Keith Moon, George Harrison, John Lennon... But Trail of Dead is talented enough to use these late 60's and whole 70's influences to express its own creativity.
After six albums, two EPs and an already rich career, "Tao of the Dead" is the band's way to say "Happy New Year" with lots of reverb and delay. They give you a luminous introduction, top song writing, cool and angry parts, a perfect potential single "Summer of All Dead Souls" that could sound nice with a sitar during an unplugged performance, vocals with soul and guts like in "Weight of the Sun", an instrumental ticket from their own travel agency with "The Fairlight Pendant", then a good old times long piece to close the CD. The kind of record you listen to non stop, from A to Z (to Å for some of us...), as you do with Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" and "Wish You Were Here", Rush's "Hemispheres" and "Permanent Waves".
