…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead is an indie rockband best known for their heavy yet anthemic music and their tendency to destroy their equipment at the end of their performances (a rock and roll tradition usually associated with The Who). According to the band's website, the name “…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead” is taken from both an ancient Mayan ritual chant and an Egyptian burial text. Band members have also claimed that they made it up because it sounded cool and discovered the association after the fact.

The chief creative element of the band consists of Jason Reece and Conrad Keely. They each formed their first band in 1993, soon after moving to Olympia, Washington. Dissatisfied with the northwest, the two ventured south to Austin, Texas and started playing as a duo under the moniker, “You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead”. The band expanded to include guitarist Kevin Allen and bassist Neil Busch. They then officially changed their name to “…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead” (adding the conjunction and then the ellipsis for effect). The band is also known by the shorter name “Trail of Dead.”