Photo Credit: Audrey Leon

…And You Will Know us by the Trail of Dead is on tour supporting its sixth album The Century of Self crisscrossing the United States several times over for the past year. On Friday, September 25, the Logan Square Auditorium played host to the band’s Chicago stop. The last time I saw …And You Will Know us by the Trail of Dead was nearly a year ago, but the show still sticks with me because of the band’s harsh, nauseating and distorted wall of sound that washed over the crowd causing everyone to retreat to a safe distance. While Friday night’s wall of sound wasn’t quite terrifying enough to make the Logan Square Auditorium audience retreat from the stage, the sound, while it left much to be desired, was nearly as deafening.

Skipping the small talk, Trail of Dead launched into the dreamy song “Invocation,” featured on the international release of 2002’s Source Tags and Codes before switching into overdrive with the epic rock anthem “Isis Unveiled.” Co-frontmen Conrad Keely and Jason Reece were in top form, spazzing out on their instrument of choice; Keely preferring guitar and Reece jumping from drums to guitar all night.

Transforming from a quartet to a sextet has been a positive for Trail of Dead. Second drummer Aaron Ford is a force to be reckoned with behind the kit and is a joy to watch as he and Jason Reece battle back and forth. Despite the terrible sound at Logan Square Auditorium, the band managed to reproduce much of its catalog to the crowd’s delight. While it is rare that any band will be able to recreate live the magic they commit to record, Trail of Dead seems to find a perverse thrill in being barely audible in the front of the house.

The set list spanned much of Trail of Dead’s arsenal, minus 1998’s self-titled album and 2006’s So Divided; however, the majority of the night’s set belonged to Source Tags & Codes. The Logan Square crowd heard old favorites such as “It was there that I saw you,” “Another Morning Stoner,” and “How Near How Far.”

When members of Trail of Dead did speak, it was a rare treat. While introducing “Giants Causeway,” vocalist Conrad Keely said, “We want to thank [Chicago instrumentalists] Russian Circles for inspiring this composition.”

Later on, as Reece made his way from the drum kit to the microphone for the umpteenth time, he dedicated “Caterwaul,” from 2005’s Worlds Apart, “to those who want to rock.” A few bars into the song, Reece journeyed into the crowd, only to get lost in the mosh pit. He was not seen again until he appeared on stage behind his kit, drumming in unison with Aaron Ford.

Guitarist Kevin Allen, ever the elder statesman of the group, stood to the left of the stage serenely strumming his guitar; this image was in deep contrast to rest of the band members who remained highly animated the entire night, bouncing, swaying and jumping to the rhythm of each song as beads of sweat poured down their guitars and soaked through their shirts.

The first song of the encore, “Bells of Creation,” saw Keely finally switch from guitar to piano for their rendition of the soft, yet explosive rock ballad. It signaled the first time that night that Keely’s voice succeeded in fighting its way through all the static that surrounded it the entire night.

But in the end, …And You Will Know us by the Trail of Dead finished strong with a rousing rendition of “A Perfect Teenhood,” off of 1999’s Madonna, which had everyone in attendance singing aloud. This closing image was a fitting way to end the show as, similarly to Trail of Dead’s Friday night performance, melody and sincerity overpowered muck and static.