Interscope Records
2006
So Divided
About This Album
Disappointed by the less-than-strong sales of their previous album, Worlds Apart, ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead almost called it quits. Instead, they rebounded by entering the studio for what they intended to be a quick EP, which blossomed into their fifth full-length, So Divided. Worlds Apart was an intensive labor of love that sometimes crossed the line between ambitious and overwrought, but the frustration that fueled this album also gives it focus and vitality. So Divided is a noticeably leaner and more focused collection of songs, mostly stripped of the interludes and preludes of Worlds Apart ("Intro: A Song of Fire and Wine" and "Segue: Sunken Dreams" are the only nods to that album's elaborate structure), but it still operates on a grand scale. The defiant, widescreen rocker "Stand in Silence" -- which rages against writer's block -- is just as anthemic in its quieter passages as it is in its bolder moments, while the title track, with its galloping tempo and surging guitars, feels like a fresher take on the drama of Source Tags & Codes. Along with quintessentially Trail of Dead songs like these, So Divided also finds the band experimenting with very different sounds.
Track List (try tracks 3 and 5)

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