Pelican (band)
Encyclopedia
Pelican is a post-metal
quartet from Chicago
, Illinois
.
, doom metal
, post-rock
, and other influences. Larry Herweg, Trevor de Brauw, and Laurent Schroeder-Lebec also make up three-quarters of the band Tusk.
Previously signed to Hydra Head Records
(which is owned and operated by Aaron Turner
of Isis
), Pelican is now part of the Southern Lord Records
roster. The label has also announced that Pelican will embark on a tour with new labelmates Wolves in the Throne Room
and that their first release for their new label is an EP titled Ephemeral, which was released June 6, 2009. Trevor de Brauw stated that the new material would be darker, heavier and more "riff oriented" than on previous recordings, and Southern Lord stated that an undisclosed guest guitarist who "is very influential to the band" would be making an appearance on the new recording as well. What We All Come to Need
was released on October 27, 2009. Greg Anderson
and Aaron Turner
both appeared on the album. In celebration of the new album, the "Pelican Burger" was served at Kuma's Corner for one night.
Speaking on the plethora of labels used to describe Pelican's genre, bassist Bryan Herweg states that "it's flattering, really", and that "I take that as nobody being able to classify what we're doing. I really don't want to be fixed in one genre."
As for the instrumental nature of the band, Herweg states that "I think there are limitations that come with having a vocalist. If we had some big burly man in front screaming, we'd be classified as metal. If we had some scrawny guy we'd be emo. As it is, no one can pin us down."
Touring has evolved the band's style from "drawn-out... slow-building" to "more direct and faster, and straight to the point" material to provide more energy on stage.
Post-metal
Post-metal is a music genre, a mixture between the genres of post-rock and heavy metal.Hydra Head Records owner and Isis frontman Aaron Turner originally termed the genre "thinking man's metal", demonstrating that his band was trying to move away from common metal conventions...
quartet from Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
.
Biography and description
The band is known for its dense combinations of different melodies and extended track lengths. Its distinctive sound draws from stoner rockStoner rock
Stoner rock or stoner metal is a subgenre of heavy metal, combining elements of psychedelic rock, blues rock, traditional heavy metal and doom metal. Stoner rock is typically slow-to-mid tempo and features a bass-heavy sound, melodic vocals, and 'retro' production...
, doom metal
Doom metal
Doom metal is an extreme form of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres...
, post-rock
Post-rock
Post-rock is a subgenre of rock music characterized by the influence and use of instruments commonly associated with rock, but using rhythms and "guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures" not traditionally found in rock...
, and other influences. Larry Herweg, Trevor de Brauw, and Laurent Schroeder-Lebec also make up three-quarters of the band Tusk.
Previously signed to Hydra Head Records
Hydra Head Records
Hydra Head Records is an independent record label which specializes in heavy metal music, founded in New Mexico by Aaron Turner in 1993...
(which is owned and operated by Aaron Turner
Aaron Turner
Aaron Turner is a musician, singer, graphic artist, and founder of label Hydra Head Records. He is most widely known for his role as guitarist and vocalist for the post-metal band Isis, while also participating in several other bands and projects such as Old Man Gloom and Lotus Eaters.Though raised...
of Isis
Isis (band)
Isis was a Los Angeles, California-based post-metal band, founded in Boston, Massachusetts, with a career spanning from 1997 to 2010...
), Pelican is now part of the Southern Lord Records
Southern Lord Records
Southern Lord is an American record label that was founded in 1998 by Greg Anderson, specializing in what could broadly be classified as experimental heavy metal, particularly the doom metal, stoner rock, and drone metal sub-genres. Some of the more notable artists on the label include Earth, Om,...
roster. The label has also announced that Pelican will embark on a tour with new labelmates Wolves in the Throne Room
Wolves in the Throne Room
Wolves in the Throne Room is a black metal band based in Olympia, Washington.Their sound is influenced by Scandinavian black metal, doom metal, dark ambient, crust punk, and folk music...
and that their first release for their new label is an EP titled Ephemeral, which was released June 6, 2009. Trevor de Brauw stated that the new material would be darker, heavier and more "riff oriented" than on previous recordings, and Southern Lord stated that an undisclosed guest guitarist who "is very influential to the band" would be making an appearance on the new recording as well. What We All Come to Need
What We All Come to Need
-Personnel:Band members* Trevor de Brauw – guitar* Bryan Herweg – bass* Larry Herweg – drums* Laurent Schroeder-Lebec – guitarOther personnel* Greg Anderson ))) – guest guitar on "The Creeper"* Ed Brooks – mastering...
was released on October 27, 2009. Greg Anderson
Greg Anderson
Greg Anderson may refer to:*Cadillac Anderson , Gregory Wayne "Cadillac" Anderson, basketball player*Greg Anderson , Canadian actor*Greg Anderson , NHRA pro stock drag racer...
and Aaron Turner
Aaron Turner
Aaron Turner is a musician, singer, graphic artist, and founder of label Hydra Head Records. He is most widely known for his role as guitarist and vocalist for the post-metal band Isis, while also participating in several other bands and projects such as Old Man Gloom and Lotus Eaters.Though raised...
both appeared on the album. In celebration of the new album, the "Pelican Burger" was served at Kuma's Corner for one night.
Genre
Regarding the band's genre, de Brauw said, "I don’t think of Pelican as a metal band... I feel like we're part of a trajectory of Midwest bands that kind of blend aggression with a pop sensibility, so while it's easy to classify us with instrumental bands, we're not instrumental by design. We just didn't know how to put vocals in our music and for it to sound right."Speaking on the plethora of labels used to describe Pelican's genre, bassist Bryan Herweg states that "it's flattering, really", and that "I take that as nobody being able to classify what we're doing. I really don't want to be fixed in one genre."
As for the instrumental nature of the band, Herweg states that "I think there are limitations that come with having a vocalist. If we had some big burly man in front screaming, we'd be classified as metal. If we had some scrawny guy we'd be emo. As it is, no one can pin us down."
Touring has evolved the band's style from "drawn-out... slow-building" to "more direct and faster, and straight to the point" material to provide more energy on stage.
Current members
- Trevor de Brauw - guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
- Bryan Herweg - bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Larry Herweg - drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Laurent Schroeder-Lebec - guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
Full lengths
- Australasia (2003)
- The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the ThawThe Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the ThawThe Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw is the second full-length studio album by Chicago post-metal band Pelican. It was released May 22, 2005 on Hydra Head Records. Regarding the lengthy and unusual name of the album, guitarist Trevor de Brauw joked, "The title is meant to confuse people...
(2005) - City of EchoesCity of EchoesCity of Echoes is the third full-length album by American post-metal band Pelican, released in June 2007 on Hydra Head Records. The album's thematic center is one of globalization; critics received this intention with varying degrees of enthusiasm....
(2007) - What We All Come to NeedWhat We All Come to Need-Personnel:Band members* Trevor de Brauw – guitar* Bryan Herweg – bass* Larry Herweg – drums* Laurent Schroeder-Lebec – guitarOther personnel* Greg Anderson ))) – guest guitar on "The Creeper"* Ed Brooks – mastering...
(2009)
EPs
- PelicanPelican (EP)Pelican is the debut EP by American post-metal band Pelican. It was originally released as a demo in 2001, before the band signed to Hydra Head Records, who re-released it in 2003....
(2001) - March into the SeaMarch Into The Sea (EP)March into the Sea is the second EP by Chicago-based instrumental metal band Pelican, released in 2005 by Hydra Head Records. The title track is the original version of the shortened song "March to the Sea" from their 2005 album The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw, which was released just...
(2005) - Pink MammothPink Mammoth (EP)Pink Mammoth is the third EP by Chicago-based instrumental metal band Pelican, released in 2007 by Hydra Head Records.The title track is a major key version of "Mammoth" from Pelican's debut EP, and the b-side "End of Seasons" is a remix/mashup from Prefuse 73 of "Aurora Borealis" and the untitled...
(2007) - Ephemeral (2009)
Splits
- Pelican / Scissorfight / The Austerity Program (2003)
- Pelican / Playing Enemy (2005)
- Pelican / Mono (2005)
- These Arms Are Snakes / Pelican (2008)
- Young Widows / Pelican (2009)
DVDs
- Live in Chicago 06/11/03 (2005)
- After the Ceiling Cracked (Live in London) (2008)
External links
- Pelican at last.fmLast.fmLast.fm is a music website, founded in the United Kingdom in 2002. It has claimed 30 million active users in March 2009. On 30 May 2007, CBS Interactive acquired Last.fm for UK£140m ....
- [ Pelican] at Allmusic
- Obnoxious Listeners: Pelican
- Interview with Laurent Schroeder of Pelican on Metal Insider
- Indiepit Article