Pelican

The secretive instrumental art metal outfit Pelican was formed in Chicago by guitarists Trevor de Brauw and Laurent Lebec, as well as bassist Larry Herweg and his sibling drummer, Bryan. Owing a great debt to pioneering forefathers Neurosis and often compared to Boston's Isis, Pelican coincidentally also found a home at Isis mastermind Aaron Turner's Hydra Head Records. After making their debut with an eponymous four-song EP in 2003, Pelican expanded their epic, otherworldly trance-metal with 2003's critically acclaimed Australasia, followed in 2004 by The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw. After heavy touring, the quartet took a much-deserved break. They returned to the studio in 2006 and released City of Echoes in June 2007, followed by the live CD/DVD After the Ceiling Cracked later that December. What We All Come to Need, the band's fourth studio effort, appeared in 2009. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia & Thom Jurek, Rovi