here's a lot of things about ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead that are rather big and far-reaching, not least of all their name. They sport a huge, room-filling sound, claim their name was given to them in a psychic message from a long-dead Italian philosopher and their albums contain a myriad assortment of iconography; a weird mix of medieval and eastern cultures.


Source Tags & Codes, the new album from ...Trail Of Dead, is a staggering statement of purpose from these Texan indie rockers (well, now that they're on Interscope Records, I'm using the term "indie" somewhat facetiously). Epic in sound and execution, and intimate in subject matter, Source Tags & Codes is a perfect encapsulation of ...Trail Of Dead's sound, not to mention a near-flawless rock album.


Emo-rock takes a (well-deserved) beating in the rock press (after all, who really wants to hear some middle-class white boy whine about how Bobbie Sue dumped his ass?), but ...Trail Of Dead seeks to change that on Source Tags & Codes. Lead singer Jason Reece doesn't whine and moan like a Jimmy Eat World or Dashboard Confessional; instead, he slinks up next to your ear, and screams a load of bile straight into your brain, while his cohorts bash away with fierce apocalyptic intensity at their instruments.


In the opener "It Was There That I Saw You," guitars pierce through the opaque clouds of ominous bass and thundering drums like a ray of sunlight, before Reece rips apart the layers of clouds to smite the unfaithful like a wrathful Greek god. Rapid-fire drums rolls complete this thunderstorm of a song, giving it a foundation of granite.


"Another Morning Stoner" moves from bleary-eyed grogginess to a galloping breakneck pace in a matter of seconds. The awkward vocal arrangement is thankfully offset by a sweeping string section, which buries the vocals far beneath the muddled production. The most impressive moment is the vaudeville-esque outro, fleshed out with seemingly decaying accordions.


...Trail Of Dead really kick out the jams with "Baudelaire," a full-out balls-to-the-wall rocker. The drums settle into a jaunty but aggressive groove, as the lead guitar builds little stairways from he edges, which Reece happily climbs to the upper end of the track. The chaotic brass section which appears at the end is impressive, making you wish for more of the same, as it melts away into a spacey outro.


"Homage" is Source Tags & Codes violent afterbirth, spewing tendrils of ...Trail Of Dead's blood and guts into the stratosphere in a tight, forceful package of hardcore churning and truly creepy atmospherics. Guitars hum like rusted machinery and growl like rabid animals as a simple and overcast piano note is repeated. The drum/bass combination builds a tight cell which Reece tries his damnedest to break out of, lashing out at whomever is listening. He screams "Do you believe what I say?" and you're afraid to think anything but "yes."


The album's second half kicks off with "Heart Is In The Hand Of The Matter," posing like a lost b-side from Daydream Nation, complete with Thurston Moore-ish mumbles, murky guitars and unpredictable piano fills and tempo changes. Melodramatic lyrics such as "There's nothing that can be done...I walk in the shadows of your tortured realm" subtract from the song's impact, but again, they're thankfully buried far into the mix. Your attention is also diverted by the delicate piano, which is constantly threatened to be squashed by the texture-laden meat-grinder guitars.


"Monsoon" marks the album's only complete failure, a directionless song bogged down by truly laughable lyrics such as "Pray to God, but he's not listening/This world's a gutter that he likes to piss in." The placement of "Monsoon" on the album makes it smart even more, appearing at a crucial juncture where the album should be climaxing, not losing speed.


Thankfully, "Days Of Being Wild," much like its title suggests, is a raucous and thuggish slab of hook-filled hardcore that regains all of Source Tags & Codes's intensity. Thrusting jabs of unforgiving riffs pummel you as a harmonious refrain rushes over you. The closing moments bring tempo shifts and multi-tracked vocals, as Reece delves into a stream-of-consciousness rant.


After the fragmented art-rock outro of "Days Of...," "Relative Ways" comes as a huge surprise. As the album's most obvious radio-friendly track, it contains hooks carved out of marble and a huge chorus that you won't be able to shake from your head. "Relative Ways" crescendos into a speed-rush close, segueing into the instrumental "After The Laughter," formed from skeletal piano and string sections of melancholy grandeur.


The bittersweet closer "Source Tags & Codes" carries the bombastically-produced album to a logical close, drenched in self-importance and stadium-ready riffage.


...Trail Of Dead attempts a delicate balance on Source Tags & Codes, meshing many styles and influences together. Thankfully, all their little flourishes and musical side trips are proportioned wonderfully, resulting in a lurching Frankenstein monster of an album, raging against the dying of the rock.