Austin-based prog rockers …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead may refer to the deceased in their lengthy name, but there’s nothing dead about their music or their shows. The band is bringing their loud, epic and occasionally thrashing sound – along with their equipment destroying-tendencies – to the Cactus Club, 2496 S. Wentworth Ave., Friday night.

Before the Trail of Dead makes its way to Milwaukee, we caught up with the band's drummer, part-time frontman and co-founder Jason Reece to chat about apathy in the indie rock scene, their next album and their obsession with "Game of Thrones."

OnMilwaukee.com: My first question – and I’m sure this question is the most annoying thing you ever get – is about the band’s name. You’ve said that it’s based on Egyptian and Mayan sources, but you’ve also said that might be a lie. Is there any chance I’d be able to get the real meaning?

Jason Reece: We choose not to discuss the origin, just because it seems we’ve kind of lost the truth ourselves. We don’t really know where it came from.

OMC: For this last album ("Last Songs"), you guys headed out to Hanover, Germany, to record it. What was the goal of heading out there, and what drew you there for this particular album?

JR: For us, the idea of going somewhere is to get away from our comfort zone and be in a place where you can focus. Definitely going to Germany was a big adventure. I don’t know if we’ll ever do it again. 

OMC: This latest album really focused on the apathy toward current world events and indifference, especially amongst indie bands and the whole indie world. Some of your noted main inspirations were the Syrian civil war and the Russian punk group Pussy Riot. What sparked this for you? Was it first the indifference, or did Pussy Riot push you toward that topic?

JR: In a way, they kind of just coincided. We were inspired by some of the ways certain ’90s bands had kind of a political element. There’s definitely this outspokenness to that generation of music that almost seems kind of lost in rock music right now. I can’t think of a band right now that reminds me of something that’s political at the moment and current in this day and age. I mean, I certainly don’t think Vampire Weekend is really critiquing any sort of thing that’s happening in the world right now.

It seems to me that Pussy Riot really has the spirit of that and the idea of revolution rock. There’s still that passion. Music and protest are still valid, and that a smart concert can provoke. I mean, in Russia they don’t tolerate outspokenness, so that a band of women playing punk music can be dangerous, that’s pretty impressive. There’s still power there.

OMC: Do you think that depoliticizing rock music nowadays is on the musicians, on the consumers or a little bit of both?

JR: I don’t know. I lot of these bands probably grew up in the suburbs. They don’t really have any sort of struggle. They probably went to a decent college, and their parents probably paid for everything, or at least that’s what it feels like based on the kind of music that’s out there.

OMC: On your song "Catatonic," you talk about this current overprivileged generation. Now, back when you guys did "Worlds Apart" in 2005, the title song was very angry and against that kind of MTV mindset and generation. It would seem you haven’t seen much improvement?

JR: Not really. It seems to be just as bad as it’s ever been. But even when you see what’s going on right now, you feel like there’s going to be a young crop of bands coming up and saying f*ck you to the system. There’s gotta be something. I mean, I liked Public Enemy, N.W.A. and all these ’90s bands that had these messages, but I don’t know. Everything has its place.

OMC: Now you guys are already in the process of another album, "The Tao of the Dead III." How’s that coming along?

JR: We’re just working on some mixes right now. We’re working on making it sound the way we want, but all the music is put to tape.

OMC: Why return to a previous album?

JR: On "Lost Songs," a lot of the songs were very urgent and a lot more of a punk influence. With this one, we went back to another, more prog rock element. There’s a lot of moments where we’re tapping into the music we’re getting into lately, like some of the more psychedelic music out there.

We’re really hoping "III" will be a really nice listen, that it’ll be something can you put on and not really be flipping through the channels but instead really taking it in like a big road trip.

OMC: Yeah, you guys said that you mean for it to be a 20-minute long composition, divided up but still a single work.

JR: Made with lots of coffee. (laughs) The magic of caffeine really makes art.

OMC: I have to ask: On "A Place To Rest," the notes for the lyrics flat out say the song is about "Game of Thrones." I’m assuming you guys must be fans?

JR: (laughs) Yeah, we are.

OMC: How’d the "Red Wedding" go for you a few months back?

JR: Oh my. It was probably one of the more shocking moments of my life, watching that series. The funny thing is my wife is reading the books, so she already knew. She was like, "You’re in for it." But yeah, it was definitely a brilliant moment.

OMC: What drove you guys, on this album filled with songs about war and tyranny, to take a moment and write a whole song about a TV show?

JR: (The show) really ties into what’s happening now. The writing on the show strangely connects to the way people are, with so much deceit and all of the other things that go with the lust for power. I think that’s why "Game of Thrones" is so relevant and popular nowadays.

OMC: Yeah, pretty much anyone truly noble seems to have died at this point.

JR: Yeah, maybe we’ll just write whole albums about it. Then again, we’ve been inspired by books and art and movies in the past. It’s just one of those things. It’s whatever inspires you in the moment, and then you go for it.

OMC: Has anyone from the show contacted you about doing a song for the show or something?

JR: Yeah! HBO reached out. They wanted one of our songs off of "Worlds Apart" for a commercial, but they wanted it in some crazy 24-hour timeframe, and they wanted us to chop it up and basically remix the song. There was just no physical possibility of doing it at the time. So we missed out, and then they ended up choosing a really crappy song. But we were almost on a "Game of Thrones" commercial!

The show – including openers Ume, The Red Paintings and Whips – starts at 9 p.m. at the Cactus Club.