Pelican/These Arms Are Snakes split 10"

Pelican and These Arms Are Snakes are too bands that do not need much introduction. They are two pretty well established groups that have been around for some time. Pelican, an instrumental post-metal band from Chicago, has been putting out tunes for 7 years; These Arms Are Snakes, a post-hardcore experimental group composed of alumni from various bands including the legendary Botch. This split came about after TAAS joined Pelican onstage for an encore during their European tour earlier this year, they liked the results so much that they decided to put it into recording.

On this split, each band covers a song of the others. Pretty straight forward, Pelican covering the song 'Diggers of Ditches Everywhere' (entitled 'Gold Diggers' on this split) by TAAS from their debut EP, and TAAS tackles 'Pink Mammoth' from Pelican's 'Pink Mammoth' EP. It comes out to be a really interesting record.

The first band on this split is Pelican. I'm going to be honest, my listening experience with TAAS is very minimal. I am not very familiar with their music at all. I know who they are, but I have never listened to them very extensively. That being said; Pelican does a Pelican job of making this sound like Pelican. I would have no problem believing this to be another Pelican composition if I did not know better. I don't know if this song is just natural for Pelican's style or just the way they managed to build it up, but it really fits what I've come to know and expect from Pelican.

TAAS's side of the split is an interesting take on a song that has been done by the parent band twice already. It's clearly Pelican's song, but the tones of TAAS really make it something else, also the fact that they have added a vocal part to it changes it quite significantly considering Pelican is an instrumental group. This is my favorite of the two songs on this split I think. It might just be because I am familiar with the track already, but it's a great song, and this fresh take on it is really good.

This split is clearly for fans of the band, and if you like either band, you probably will enjoy these tracks, and it's really worth checking out.

Pelican on MySpace
These Arms Are Snakes on MySpace
Hyrdrahead Records