A growing number of new bands are embracing the characteristics and conventions of heavy metal in their quest for tense, dramatic post-rock instrumentalism. Pelican are a new instrumental group from Chicago, and this untitled EP on Hydra Head is their first release. The EP is quite promising, filled to the brim with big, crunchy heroic power chords and melodic riffs. The sound is not far from bands such as Explosions in the Sky or The Fucking Champs, but without all of the slow-burn atmospheric filler.Hydra Head
Even in the midst of their fuzzed-out doom metal noisiness, they are controlled and precise players, comparable to Godspeed You Black Emperor when they drop that boring ambient crawl and decide to rock out. The liner notes include a kind of manifesto thing about playing at high volumes, so I made sure to crank the volume to eleven when listening. The first track, "Mammoth" is an apt introduction, with a dark and compelling melody that repeats as layers of feedback-heavy guitars and rumbling bass are added. Pelican strongly push the treble and the sub in their music. Things heat up with the second track, "Pulse," where the powerful, propulsive rhythm section shines in this heavy-as-hell, riff-based metal song with a gargantuan sound. I don't know why track three is called "Forecast for Today," because it should be called "Victory March." It's a classically heroic slab of deep, epic metal, like the Master of Puppets-era Metallica everybody secretly still loves. This is an amazing track. In fact, each song on this four-track EP seems to up the intensity from the last. Pelican must have rolled a big fatty before recording the last track, the 13-minute "The Woods," their take on the stoner rock haziness of Kyuss and Sleep. Guiding the listener through several nebulous tempo and chord changes signalled by squealing feedback and rumbling bass, this track meanders around for a while before settling on a loud, noisy tribute to the god of war. The track ends with a cavernous sturm und drang, and all of the instruments fall out of sync and fade into oblivion. This EP is an excellent first release that manages to have the impact of a full-length album and I can't wait to hear what's next for Pelican.
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