Worlds Apart (...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead album)

This article is about the album by ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. For other uses of the name, see Worlds Apart (disambiguation).

Worlds Apart
Studio album by ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead
Released	January 24, 2005
Recorded	2004
Genre	Alternative rock, art rock, indie rock, progressive rock
Length	44:57
Label	Interscope 0075021036932
Producer	Mike McCarthy, ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead chronology
The Secret of Elena's Tomb (2003) Worlds Apart (2005) So Divided (2006)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
The Music Box	[2]
Pitchfork Media	(4.0/10)[3]
Rolling Stone	[4]
Tiny Mix Tapes	[5]
This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information.

Worlds Apart is an album by ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. It was released on January 25, 2005 by Interscope Records and reached #92 on the UK Album Chart.^[6]

First single "The Rest Will Follow" was played on college radio and on some alternative stations throughout America. "Caterwaul" also received some airplay. Worlds Apart sold 13,000 albums in its first week of release in America and went on to sell 60,000 albums in total, approximately half of what Source Tags & Codes sold in America.

Production

The album release was postponed from winter, 2004 to January, 2005 by Interscope, to protect it from late-year releases by Eminem and Destiny's Child.^[7] In effect, giving a better selling market. Keely commented:

"I have constant anxiety that the record won't sell. We hope we appeal to not just people of this generation, but people of future generations. We're trying to do something that's timeless and timely. Something that's culturally significant. To have it overlooked would be, for me, a nightmare."^[7]

Design

In an interview with PopMatters, vocalist Conrad Keely described the development of the Worlds Apart cover art, stating that while he typically incorporates his free time drawings and paintings into the band's albums, this cover collage was more specifically designed.^[8] However, Interscope insisted that he cite and clear all sources of his art, much of which was found in museums around the world. Given the improbability of the task, illustrator Cyril Van Der Haegen was hired to paint Keely's design and tweak various elements.^[9] Keely also summarized the theme of the collage:

"I wanted an allegory depicting the history of human conflict. I wanted everybody to be fighting, like in Marvel Comics' Secret Wars, where all the superheroes are fighting each other. I actually wanted to sneak in one of the New Mutants."^[10]

Track listing

1. "Ode to Isis" – 1:16
2. "Will You Smile Again?" – 6:50
3. "Worlds Apart" – 2:55
4. "The Summer of '91" – 3:12
5. "The Rest Will Follow" – 3:20
6. "Caterwaul" – 4:52
7. "A Classic Art Showcase" – 5:47
8. "Let it Dive" – 4:45
9. "To Russia My Homeland"† – 1:25
10. "All White" – 1:49
11. "The Best" – 4:47
12. "The Lost City of Refuge" – 3:50

There are several editions of the album:

• In the UK, the album was released with two live bonus tracks: "Aged Dolls" and "Richter Scale Madness".
• In Germany and Australia, it featured "Mach Schau" and "All St. Day", two songs which had already appeared on "The Secret of Elena's Tomb" EP.
• In Japan, the album was released with two live bonus tracks: "Aged Dolls" and "Richter Scale Madness", plus "All St. Day" from "The Secret of Elena's Tomb" EP.
• The DVD version contains a documentary, an essay by Conrad Keely, an art gallery, Conrad's sketch book, live performances, home movies, studio footage, and a video for "All St. Day", which is different from the live video from "The Secret of Elena's Tomb".

† features a violin solo by Hilary Hahn

Track information

"Ode to Isis"

The whole song follows a pattern of three bars of 5/4 followed by one bar of 6/4. It starts at a soft volume with only a piano, builds in volume and intensity, comes to include strings, and operatic-style singing, and ends with a woman's shrill scream. The melody stays essentially the same throughout the whole song and from bar to bar, the only deviation being the last quarter note of the 6/4 phrases. The song starts with the basic melody played staccato on the lower end of the piano's register. Tom-tom drums, a tambourine, singing and strings begin quietly at the start of the second melody cycle and steadily grow in intensity and volume throughout the whole song. The muted screams of women can be heard throughout the latter half of the song. At the very end of the song, a woman's voice starts in the left channel and ends in the right as she says the name of the band. Aside from this spoken phrase, the lyrics are:

Isis, Horus, Ra, Seth

Isis, Horus, Ra, Seth

Isis, Horus, Ra, Seth

Isis, Horus, Anubis

"Will You Smile Again?"

"Will You Smile Again?" is about "the idea of the composer who is unable or unwilling to face the weight of their own genius, and allow their fears to stop them from accomplishing great work." The band wanted a picture of Brian Wilson, who was releasing Smile at the time, to accompany the song on the CD artwork. However, an art director at Interscope Records said they couldn't, and so a picture of Bach appears instead.^[11]

"Worlds Apart"

"Worlds Apart" is a protest song, bemoaning the current state of American popular culture and recent United States foreign policy, specifically the War on Terrorism, also against MTV, soccer moms, and the state of parenting in today's society. It makes explicit reference to the September 11, 2001 attacks with the lyrics "How they laugh as we shovel the ashes / Of the twin towers. / Blood and death, we will pay back the debt / Of this candy store of ours."

Track appearances

"Let It Dive" was featured in the EA Sports video game MVP Baseball 2005. "Will You Smile Again?" was the emotional charge in a scene to end of 7th episode titled "Hurts" of The Shield in season 4. It also appears in the Codemasters video game Colin McRae: Dirt 2 and the 2005 movie Goal!

Chart history

Chart (2005)	Peak position
US Billboard 200[12]	81

References

1. ^ Allmusic review
2. ^ John Metzger. "The Music Box review". Musicbox-online.com. http://www.musicbox-online.com/tod-part.html. Retrieved 2011-08-20. 
3. ^ "Pitchfork Media review". Pitchforkmedia.com. 2005-01-24. http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/14945/And_You_Will_Know_Us_By_the_Trail_of_Dead_Worlds_Apart. Retrieved 2011-08-20. 
4. ^ Rolling Stone review^{[dead link]}
5. ^ Tiny Mix Tapes review^{[dead link]}
6. ^ "Chart Log UK: A - Azzido Da Bass". Zobbel.de. http://www.zobbel.de/cluk/CLUK_A.HTM. Retrieved 2009-03-05. 
7. ^ ^{a b} "Trail Of Dead's Plan To Save Rock And Roll Postponed Until January - Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV. 2004-10-19. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1492736/20041019/trail_of_dead.jhtml. Retrieved 2011-08-20. 
8. ^ Thill, Scott. "The Ship Is Sinking: An Interview With ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead < PopMatters". Popmatters.com. http://www.popmatters.com/music/interviews/trail-of-dead-050328.shtml. Retrieved 2011-08-20. 
9. ^ "www.tegehel.org -- Trail of Dead "Worlds Apart" CD cover art". http://www.tegehel.org/art/painting/paint28_TOD.htm. Retrieved 2009-03-05. ^{[dead link]}
10. ^ Thill, Scott THE SHIP IS SINKING: An Interview With ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead PopMatters.com (March 28, 2005). Retrieved on 12-22-08.
11. ^ Sean Moeller (2008-03-03). "...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead". Daytrotter. http://www.daytrotter.com/dt/and-you-will-know-us-by-the-trail-of-dead-the-prophets-say-trashings-can-be-gentle-concert/20030223-111154.html. Retrieved 2009-06-11. 
12. ^ "Artist Chart History - ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Albums&model.vnuArtistId=259564&model.vnuAlbumId=1209519. Retrieved 2009-03-05. ^{[dead link]}

External links

• Trail of Dead Official Site
• Trail of Dead Fansite