...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead

Genuinely angry alternative voices became something of a scarcity in the 2000s, but with their blistering, thrashing, post-punk agitation, ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead blazed a lone path of heavy, high octane rock nihilism. Formed by childhood friends Jason Reece and Conrad Keely, the band grew out of the Austin, Texas music scene and made their name with some infamously chaotic live shows and early independent albums ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead (1998) and Madonna (1999). A major deal with Interscope saw the group use their bigger budget to produce a grander, more textured and bombastic sound on their classic Source Tags & Codes (2002) and follow-up Worlds Apart (2005) but, frustrated by lack of support, they left the label in 2007 to start their own company Richter Scale Records. Seventh album Tao Of The Dead (2010) marked a return to a raw, stripped down, DIY party feel, before 2012's Lost Songs featured the track Up To Infinity, inspired by and dedicated to Russian punks Pussy Riot and their battles against Vladimir Putin.