Chicago's metal renaissance is well under way, yet one of it's arguable architects, Pelican, have been curiously absent since their last full-length, 2009's What We All Come To Need. The group will release a new EP in April. Download the first track here. more ›

If you're looking for an ethereal, yet ominous, listening experience to accompany you on these rainy October days, look no further than the new EP from Chord, a high-concept ambient offshoot of Chicago post-metal band Pelican. Chord, a five-piece featuring Pelican band member Trevor Shelley-de Brauw, released their new EP, titled Gdim13, in late September. more ›

Though Chicago post-metal act Pelican is known for its in-depth, instrumental compositions, we’re sure they’ve never tried anything as high concept as what band offshoot Chord does with their second album, Progression. Chord, the self-described power-ambient group featuring Pelican member Trevor de Brauw, explores a conceit that may inspire eye rolls in theory, but is downright inspired in practice. The band members of Chord chose six different chords to chart out. Of those six, three were arranged into two different types of single compositions—one that encouraged freeform performances, and another that dictated the strength of the performances more closely. more ›

Considering the sun will be down any minute now, something of a black mood has settled around the Chicagoist offices this afternoon. So since the blackness of night will soon cover us like the eternal darkness of our immortal souls, we thought we'd pierce the sonic landscape by featuring some standouts from the city's metal scene. Oh, and we'll take a couple steps back into classic old-school Chicago Metal as well. Prepare your index finger and pinky for full metal extension. more ›

Pelican's latest album What We All Come To Need further refines the band's approach to sculpting mighty slabs of atmospheric metal. The band started out playing dive-y clubs in Wicker park and Ukranian Village years ago and gained a decent following pretty quickly by being scrawny indie boys playing instrumental metal. It was kind of interesting in a landscape of post-rocker and proto-hipsters. But what seemed slightly gimmicky at first turned out to be based in a real passion for taking sound and making it into monoliths eclipsing their audience. While their music has grown ever more precise through the years, it's never lost the passionate base that makes it something more than simply stoner math rock. more ›

Ah Pelican ... remember when they were at the forefront of that whole "skinny indie dudes playing tooth rattling stoner metal" movement? Well, now there are a zillion of those bands out there, but we still think the Chicago four-piece is one o0ff the ones that do it best. Their new disc What We All Come To Need doesn't come out until later this fall, but we just got this taster of what to expect. more ›

Local alt-metal mavens Pelican just released a new video for their song "Lost In The Headlights" from their album City of Echoes. It's not the most inventive video of all time, but it certainly fits the band's aesthetic. more ›