Pelican

Pelican is a four-piece instrumental band hailing from Chicago, Illinois who have since relocated to Los Angeles. The band is known for its dense combinations of different melodies and extended track lengths. Their distinctive sound draws from doom metal as well as post-rock and many other influences, making them exemplary proponents of post-metal. They are signed to Hydra Head Records, which is owned and operated by Aaron Turner of Isis.

Regarding the band's genre, member Trevor 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.

Catch Pelican live at Rhino's Youth Center on March 1st with Unearthly Trance and Black Cobra.