AUSTRALASIA

Australasia is the debut album from instrumental post metal band Pelican. I was not very impressed with the debut EP from the band, but Australasia is a clear improvement even though the musical style hasn´t changed much since the self titled debut EP.

The album consist of four long tracks ( about 10 minutes) and two shorter ones. The music is intrumental post metal which means that there are mid paced and slow heavy riffing and more atmospheric parts. The songs are actually very memorable which is something I complained about was lacking on the EP. Sometimes Australasia reminds me of an instrumental version of Isis debut album Celestial but Pelican are a bit more melodic. Even though the music is very heavy it´s not really dark as for example Neurosis. At times it´s even a bit uplifting for the spirit.

The musicianship is good on the album. Everything is played in a mid to slow pace so don´t expect dazzling instrumental runs. This music emphasises atmosphere before technicality. The band seems very tight though.

The production is a bit murky but I think it suits the music well.

The cover artwork is actually very special and I really like it. The mix cartoon and real picture works really well.

This album has ignited my interest in Pelican even though I do miss vocals at times. It´s not that the music gets boring even though it is repetitive at times but I just prefer music with vocals. I still think this is a very good album and I´ll rate it 3 stars.