Customer Reviews

Pelican

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This EP is HEAVY. HEAVY. HEAVY. HEAVY. These four fellas crank out a huge, relentless, world-crushing sound. The four tracks on this EP ("Pulse", "Mammoth", "Forecast for Today", "The Woods" -- clocking in at just under 30 minutes) take you into this deafening netherworld of cascading noise and repeating guitar themes that is eerily hypnotic, and can only be fully appreciated if you listen to it LOUD. Without a singer (can't imagine a singer trying to sing over their noise) they rely on their plodding instrumental pieces to create the mood. The feeling is that they're going to war with the listener.

"Pulse" sounds like this triumphal Olympic anthem where people play games to the death, instead of simply for medals. "Mammoth" is this blazing, thundering march that calls to mind the relentless charge of an army (with some odd drum rhythms tossed in now and then as a tease, making you think they're about to speed up). "Forecast..." is dark, gritty, savage, fuzzy-toned, without giving one much time to recover from the pummeling from the track before. "The Woods" is the darkest of them all, beginning with a lurking lead-in that gradually grows to fill the sonic vista with the grim inevitability of doom. Overblown description? Maybe -- but they way these guys play, it's EPIC!

Metalheads have taken to these guys, but they're really not exactly metallic. They're just monstrously heavy. My only complaint is that I think they need to add a little more variety in their sound, from song to song. I'd encourage them to experiment, because what they're doing is a cool thing, and they need to run with it and see what they can do.

I've heard that they're working on a full-length, and I found myself wondering if they'll be able to sustain the vibe for a whole album. In their current form, I'd leave that open, which is why I gave them four out of five stars.

This quartet from Chicago take the Sludge sub-genre of Doom Metal to a whole new level. Every instruments has it's own tasteful raw sound. That is to say that each instrument's sound is not sacrificed for another.

This EP, starts with "Pulse" which sets a mesmerizing tone for rest of the album. The sheer apocalypse of the next track "Mammoth" leads you through chunky cymbals, chug-a-chug guitars and a deep brooding bassline. The next track, "Forecast For Today" starts off from where the Mammoth left off. The drums have more presence here along with the bass guitars. The guitars as usual are furiously ear-splitting throughout with a micro-interlude and pseudo-solo around the ending quarter of the track. Finally the epic, "The Woods" begins with distortion free guitars and smooth bass lines, and once again with splashy cymbals. This song is slower paced, but yet reaches the heaviness of "Mammoth". There are melodic interludes in this track. After the first interlude, adrupt an adrupt tempo changes leads you through the rest of this 13-minute track.

I bought this CD from the HydraHead record's store and is the best 7 bucks I've spent. I am looking forward to the their's LP aka. Australasia arriving in my mailbox within the next few days.

If you feel a bit left out with Isis' Oceanic and Panopticon due to their slight change of direction, this CDs for you, nonetheless fans of current Isis albums would find themselves at home too. Cult of Luna fans, you'll be rewarded.

This CD is best heard at high volumes, so crank those speakers up. Subwoofer recommended, as the bass guitars in this album are worth hearing as they add a whole new texture to the album (as they do with any other Isis, Cult of Luna, Neurosis albums). Buy this!

I am not a real "metal" fan, but some of the bands I listen to are classified as such, like Opeth, Tool and The Melvins. However, I don't feel that one needs to be a metal fan to appreciate the sonic devastation which Pelican provides.

This is the first of Pelican I have bought, though I did listen to the streaming version of "The Fire in our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw" from Pelican's website (which impressed me with its different tones/shades and moods). This 20-something minute EP is extremely refreshing in my ear because it is exemplary of TRUE HEAVINESS.

I honestly do not believe that there exist many "metal" bands (or any variation thereof) that understand the primal simplicity of what drives a song to be felt and considered as heavy. This is not something native to heavy metal or any form of classic hard rock (including The Who and Led Zeppelin). This kind of HEAVINESS defies genre and permeates the boundaries of classification.

Beethoven understood heaviness.

Pelican understands heaviness.

Every time I play "Mammoth" in my car, I can't help but glance towards the mountains in fear of beholding an actual mammoth tramping its way through the meagre establishments of humanity.

What I am about to say is probably pretentious since I know next to nothing about present-day metal, and, for all I know Pelican's sound is easily beaten by several other bands, but here goes nonetheless:

In the storm of HEAVINESS, bands like Slayer and Megadeth form the lightning, the strike. Pelican is the thunder, bellowing patiently.

Really, this album isn't much else than raw and harsh instrumental metal. Yet I find myself so compelled to it. As other reviewers have repeatedly stated, it's heavy. Lord is it heavy. Not heavy in the sense of crazy blastbeat drumming and super speedy guitar licks, its just loud, droning 'walls of sound', created by the monumental guitars.

In relation to other more recent Pelican releases, this album is a lot heavier and far less ambitious. You wont find the gorgeous acoustic passages found on the latest (and might I add superb) "The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon The Thaw".

The album's pinnacle point, the 13-minute climax of "The Woods", is outstanding. It leaves me feeling like a wobbly sack of human inertia when it has finished. The sound is huge, the buildups are tense and executed perfectly, the changes in riff and mood come in perfect timing...this song is stunning.

The rest of the album is solid, although becomes a little repetative at times, but "The Woods" is worth the money alone.

I read a reviewer claiming the band sound like they're 'stuck in one major chord'; I'm not sure what this person is trying to say. For one thing the band certainly don't seem 'stuck' to me, and as for major chord? This is an absurd criticism as the band clearly doesn't play one repeated chord, maybe this person meant...major scale...or major key...but then once again they would be wrong, as no song on this album is in a major key.

This album is simply harsh, full of towering guitar riffs and chord progressions that never tire. If you're a fan of post rock, check this one out.

When listening to this EP, many images come to mind; Invading Mongol hordes, the sacking of Rome, cleaved swords, sullied hands and broken necks. In other words: Destruction... Absolute and definitive.

This is to be enjoyed on sound systems that "go to eleven".

On the aptly titled, Mammoth, the wall of sound comes over you like an avalanche...and you let it. You savor it.
You let it beat you down into the dirt because that is how unbelievably low and earth shattering it is.

It's refreshing to hear a sound so stripped to the bone, so unpretentious and unrelentingly heavy.
Methodic and sludgy, this monstrous piece of work goes exactly where it wants to... It plots a course and doesn't follow the terrain, it plows through it.

I wouldn't consider this black metal, as other reviews suggest. If that's what you are looking for check out Immortal, Darkthrone, Mayhem, Emperor, and others.

Anyway, off that note. This album creates an atmosphere that not many bands can create. It is quite uplifting actually. The riffs are very low, but their are also high melodys that are very memorable. They are combined at perfect moments, showing that this band needs no vocals. The songs are lengthy, but as you listen you can actually forget how long the songs are because their are no boring parts to hold them down and make you loose interest. If you are a fan of any music, you will appreciate this magnificent work.

This EP is slow, droning instrumental black metal. It sounds almost as if the record player is on the wrong speed. At the same time, the sound is stunningly sludgy and massive. It's a great launching point if you think you might be leaning toward the dark side, but it's also great for people who like both stoney, hypnotic stuff (like stereolab) and metal. There's no pop sensibility whatsoever, but this EP is so good it doesn't matter.

Oh, how I wish Pelican would go back to their roots of insane heaviness. This, and Austrailasia, and sludge / post-metal masterpieces. Not to say that their other albums aren't fantastic, as well.

The whole album is essentially a giant build-up to the 12+ minute juggernaut that is The Woods.
Pluse starts the album out with a fairly light sound.
The song is fallowed by Mammoth, which is insanely sludgy, heavy, and slow. Reminds me of a mammoth. Every chug is like a punch in the stomach. Mammoth is a very, very aggressive song.
Forecast for Today, the 7-and-a-half minute insanity fest is absolutely stunning, with catchy riffs that lead into a higher-end, more open conclusion.
The Woods is nearly 13-minutes long and after the first 2.5 minutes it doesn't let up once. The Woods will leave you feeling weak and beaten. The entire thing is incredibly full and powerful.

I've always had a place in my heart for Pelican. This EP is the last album of theirs that I've heard, and I don't regret purchasing it.

If you're a fan of doom metal, stoner metal, post-metal, or instrumental metal, buy this immediately. Otherwise, you at LEAST have to give Pelican a listen. You'd be doing yourself a big favor.

...that's the best analogy I can come up with to describe this album. It's very short, perhaps too short for some of you, but I like it that way. Music like that of Pelican tends to wear me out if I listen to a full album of it. But with only four songs, this EP offers a nice little slice of metal that can be consumed in under 30 minutes.

It's very heavy. Especially _Mammoth_ and _The Woods_, but all four songs are exemplary samples of Pelican's style of metal: An equally melodic and atonal approach to song structure, coupled with a heavy chugging guitar section which repeat for an almost hypnotic effect. Whatever melodicism they use never sounds shallow, syrupy, or smarmy. Their use of melodic passages in this album is subtle and effective, similar to an effective use of seasoning in a recipe.

Like their other albums, in this EP, Pelican manage to develop angsty and beautiful melodies that are wrapped in layer upon layer of heavily distorted guitars. Unlike more pop/comsumerist bands, Pelican usually take their sweet time to let their songs evolve and take depth, where melody and distortion intertwine like vines, and often meet at some point for a cathartic collision.

Just yummy.

Like all Pelican albums, this album is strictly instrumental. And though I enjoy death metal growls, sometimes I think vocal passages can get in the way of what would be an otherwise wonderful metal album. Pelican is a band I am glad is instrumental. They are not preoccupied with vocal deliveries, they are free to devote all of their energy into developing complicated, heavy, and beautiful instrumental soundscapes, which carry a ambiance of darkness, power, glory, and existential beauty.

In conclusion. I highly recommend this album. Seasoned Pelican fans will probably appreciate this early and very heavy grounded work as an interesting counterpoint to their more recent ethereal leanings. This album might be a great introduction to first time listeners as well. It's shorter, cheaper, and if you don't like this album, there is a good chance you will not like their other albums.

This ep pounds some serious heavy tunes into your skull. Very deep, dark and elusive stuff, very hard to label. Some refer to this as doom, who knows, its a tough one. Pelcian isnt afraid to stray from the ultra super slow boring jams that we are used to hearing. Think Isis "Mosquito Control" but just a tad bit slowed down, and with no vocals. This ep is a must have. But it or be left behind.