Keely, a songwriter and bassist named James Olsen and a guitarist (Paul Westmoreland) started a band in the early 1990s.

The band was called varied things before settling on "Benedict Gehlen" (named after a monk laid to rest in the St. Martin's Abby in Olympia).

In early 2002, Trail of Dead released Source Tags & Codes, which received wide acclaim, including a 10/10 rating from Pitchfork Media,[7] later saying it is "one of indie rock's truly epic albums".

[8] Their following tour was chronicled by Rolling Stone, with Andrew Dansby commenting on their group dynamic as a "post-punk Voltron, that just might be the most exciting unit working today.

The EP contained the electronic track "Intelligence" which featured and was co-written by Tyler Jacobson from A Roman Scandal, Reece's other band.

In July 2004, it was announced that Neil Busch had been removed from the band and Danny Wood would be taking his place on bass.

[11] In late summer of 2007, Trail of Dead once again toured Europe, this time with drummer Aaron Ford replacing Doni Schroader.

The band provided the soundtrack to the 2007 film Hell on Wheels, a documentary about the formation of Roller Derby in Austin, Texas.

[19][20] On October 21, they released an EP, resembling an "album teaser", titled Festival Thyme on Richter Scale Records.

[21][22][23] In September 2010, Keely posted news of an upcoming album 2011 release, produced by Chris "Frenchie" Smith, with an accompanying comic book.

[26] It was also revealed that the band had stripped down to a core four-piece, and that Jay Phillips, Clay Morris and longtime guitarist Kevin Allen had been removed from the lineup.

[27] In 2012, the band recorded material for a new album in Hanover, Germany again with producer Frenchie Smith and engineer Mirko Hofmann.

[35] In February 2014, the band announced a limited U.S. tour focused on playing music from Source Tags and Codes and plans to record their next album, a sequel to Tao of the Dead, in the spring and summer of 2014.

[39] After a subsequent tour the band, Keely moved to Cambodia and released his debut solo album, Original Machines, in 2016.

...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead have cited numerous bands and artists as influences, including Kate Bush, Mike Oldfield, Unwound, Karp, Sonic Youth, Pink Floyd, and the Who.