This year’s Beyond the Gate festival featured two of Chicago’s own heavy hitters: instrumental metal bands Pelican and Russian Circles.
The concert takes place at Bohemian National Cemetery in Chicago; this one on September 26th under the Harvest Moon. A line of people formed early, many to stake out a good spot on the lawn for their blankets and camping chairs. Food trucks, merchandise, and drink stations also adorned the lawn, making it a conveniently short walk to get some grub. Before long, a sizable crowd occupied the grass and we settled in for a night of crushing riffs.
Pelican
The first of the two bands was Pelican, a group that’s been around since 2001. Often given the label post-metal, their music is heavy on dynamics, space, and texture. They played newer material from their latest album Flickering Resonance, as well as a couple older tracks, including Drought off of 2003’s Australasia. Guitarist Trevor Shelley de Brauw thanked the crowd and let us know that although metal often has dark connotations, their sound is meant to be uplifting. He also commented that when you are offered the chance to play a cemetery with Russian Circles, you do it. They genuinely seemed to enjoy their time playing and the crowd was thoroughly energized by the sound.
Russian Circles
Three-piece headliner Russian Circles played their set entirely backlit, perhaps as a signal to let the sound be the focal point. Their latest album, 2026’s Nine, was just released in August and it featured prominently on the set list. Without any in-between song banter, they moved from song to song deftly. Much of their catalog is quite percussive and up-tempo, and they’re very adept at building tension within songs. And there’s variety, too. Some of their songs sound like Slayer riffs and others are more like cinematic soundscapes. They had the crowd mesmerized for the entirety of the show, and surely there were some sore necks the next day. Their current U.S. tour pauses in mid October, then picks back up in November.
