Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
The A.V. Club	B
Drowned in Sound	8/10
Pitchfork Media	7.2/10
PopMatters
Rolling Stone
Spin	7/10
Sputnikmusic
Tiny Mix Tapes
USA Today

Tao of the Dead (pronounced Dào ) is the seventh studio album by Texas rock band ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. The first single, "Summer of All Dead Souls", was posted on Spin.com on November 11, 2010, and later on Soundcloud. The digital single released officially on November 29. The album released on CD digipak format, including a limited edition two-disc booklet with 30 minutes of bonus music.

Tao of the Dead was recorded in ten days. The band stripped down to its core four-piece lineup for the record, deviating from the past two records that featured a filled-out six-piece band. This resulted in a stripped-down record with heavy emphasis on guitar. It is a two-part record, each side with a specific musical tuning; Part I in D and Part II in F.

The album can be listened to as 16 different movements or two lengthy tracks. Part I, "Tao of the Dead," is split into eleven tracks, whereas Part II, "Strange News From Another Planet," is five songs combined into one. Conrad Keely, in an interview with Spin.com, described the album's composition. "It's the way I listened to albums when I was a kid, seeing as some of my favorite records were Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, Yes's Relayer and Close to the Edge... I always liked listening to records that were just a continuous piece, like an orchestra or a symphony."

...
Wikipedia