THE FIRE IN OUR THROATS WILL BECKON THE THAW

To put it into a few words: this album is massive. Monstrous even. Huge metal riffs and bombastic soundscapes abound, but the compositions remain delicately arranged. Sludgy, de-tuned guitar riffs and pounding drums are balanced beautifully by Explosions In the Sky-style treble timbres. The songs grow and evolve seamlessly, and each is undeniably epic (almost every track is around 10 minutes).

The album begins powerfully with "Last Day of Winter", a track that sets the mood accurately for the rest of the record. The highlight of the album for me is "March to the Sea", an 11-minute epic that gives perfect examples of how Pelican can effectively balance two completely different guitar styles so nicely. All the while, no matter how much the guitar interplay is emphasized, each instrument is showcased in some fashion, though not with any noodly solos. Each player's talent is effectively displayed within the context of the overall sound.

They take a break from loud and long with a shorter untitled acoustic track in the middle of the album, which adds a nice touch to the overall feel of the record. The album ends as the rapturous crescendo of "Sirius" fades out ever-so-slowly into tiny shreds of feedback, and lets the guitars fade back in for one last chord before going silent.

This album is a monument to "how to use guitars effectively and interestingly in metal without any solos or flashy playing". A great record, though very different. 4.0 stars, prog-metal fans should make an effort to check this band out. For fans of ISIS.