If It's Too Loud...

Sometimes a triple bill is just perfectly put together. The best plan is to find three bands who are similar enough to fit together, but different enough to keep things interesting. Plus, it helps when I've been dying to see all three bands but haven't been able to yet. That was the case Monday night at The Sinclair with Pelican, Porcelain, and Glacier, three bands I've been wanting to see for various amounts of time. I've been a fan of Pelican since 2001's Untitled , but, for whatever reason, I had never seen them until Monday night. The post-metal band was playing in Boston for the first time in six years, and they released a monster of a set upon the crowd. It's kind of mind-blowing that a band can play instrumental tracks for well over an hour while keeping their audience rapt, but that is the power of Pelican. The start of their set focused on the recently released Flickering Resonance , but they played songs from their entire career to the audience's d...

Photo by Matt Darcy I've been blown away every time Glacier releases new music, and their latest single is no exception. "The Barren Soil" is a ten and a half minute offering of loud, sludgy, instrumental metal, and I wouldn't want it any other way. It's filled with punishing drums and guitars that almost seem to be in conversation with each other. At times the guitar is somehow both sludgy and thrashy, but it's always heavy. As loud and heavy as "The Barren Soil" is throughout, it's also strangely beautiful, even at its most brutal. The song is filled with transitions from loud to quiet to loud, but with a ten minute length, it has time to let those spaces truly stretch out. If you have even a slight love for metal, you'll love Glacier. You can listen to "The Barren Soil" below. More Distant/More Violent is due out July 11, and is available for pre-order through Bandcamp . For more on Glacier, check out the band's website . Upc...

It's been five years since the release of No Light Ever , but thankfully Boston's Glacier are back with a new single. "The old timers said they'd never seen nothin' like that" is a nearly ten minute epic instrumental sludgefest that never overstays its welcome. The song starts slowly, with a building intensity that just gets more and more foreboding as it trundles along. But when the song explodes, it makes the wait all the more worth it. It turns into a sludge-filled thrash-soaked masterpiece of giant, heavy metal and noise rock goodness. Even though the song is heavy and dissonant, "The old timers said they'd never seen nothin' like that" has an odd beauty to it, as well. You can listen to "The old timers said they'd never seen nothin' like that" below. A Distant, Violent Shudder is due out September 6, and is available to pre-order in various bundles via Bandcamp . For more on Glacier, check out the band on Facebook and ...

Doing Anything this Weekend? is a feature here at If It's Too Loud... where we feature some live shows in and on the far outskirts of the Boston area. Our main rules are that they have to be reasonably priced shows that you can attend last minute. They'll feature If It's Too Loud... approved bands, and we'll provide event links when possible. And since we're in outdoor music season, these events are weather permitting. If you're looking for last minute plans this weekend, we recommend: Friday May 24 Jake Blount, Nic Gareiss, and Sammy Wetstein Trio at Epsilon Spires, Brattleboro, VT Scissorfight, Viqueen, and Condition at The Press Room, Portsmouth, NH Glacier, Circus Trees, and Lesotho at Koto Asian Fusion, Salem, MA Stephanie McKay and Cliff Notez at Uncommon Stage, Boston Common, Boston, MA Saturday May 25 Carissa Johnson, The Fatal Flaw, and The Callouts at Askew, Providence, RI Minibeast, Fugue State, and Shirese at Gallery X, New Bedford, MA Sunday May 26 ...

If you've been here for a while, you know that metal isn't something we cover a whole lot. That just means that when we do, it's spectacular. Boston's Glacier released No Light Ever back in 2019, but we just discovered them from playing a show with Salem Wolves and Evan Greer earlier this month, which we sadly missed. There are only four songs on No Light Ever , but it clocks in at forty-two minutes of instrumental metal. It's the kind of metal that goes between gorgeous quieter moments and loud, crushing ones within the same song. If you're looking for screaming death, Glacier won't be for you. But if you want music that's going to lull you into hypnosis and then blast you in your skull, then you've found it! You can listen to "O World! I Remain No Longer Here." below. No Light Ever is available on Bandcamp for the "name your price" option. If you do choose free, be sure to at least give Glacier a follow on Facebook and Twitter ...