"Thanks again. We're gone."

Those are the last sounds that atmospheric metal band Isis left in their fans' ears as they exited the stage at the 9:30 Club last night. Having announced the end of the band in May, Isis are currently on a "farewell tour" with the Melvins, and while listening to Isis live is a lot like just listening to one of their records at insanely high volumes, that's not really a bad thing at all. It didn't hurt that they played a number of cuts off of Oceanic and Panopticon, widely considered their best efforts.

More photos after the jump.

The Melvins, though a bigger draw than Isis, actually insisted on opening for them after Isis' announcement that this would be their final tour:

Full gallery here.

If this week's Opeth and Enslaved bill at the 9:30 Club was an inspired pairing, the combination of Isis and Pelican tomorrow at the Black Cat is almost too obvious. Imagine post-rock played with heavy metal riffs and you've got the right idea for both these groups. Isis are touring in support of new release Wavering Radiant, which sees the band cutting back on the gorgeous distorted fuzz of earlier works like Panopticon in favor of a looser, more psychedelic vibe. Vocalist Aaron Turner (also the boss man of Hydra Head Records) has added a decent singing voice to his repertoire to augment his guttural screams, and uses it to good effect on the new material. Isis' current output is somewhat less sweepingly epic than their earlier work, but it's still very much widescreen in nature.

Openers Pelican might glibly be called the Explosions in the Sky of metal. Pelican's music is entirely instrumental and immediately accessible: melodic and major-key, yet still heavy. On their own they might be a little lightweight, but paired with Isis, they should offer a nice counterpoint to the headliners' more doom-laden heft.

Isis, Pelican and Tombs play at the Black Cat mainstage Saturday night, $15 at the door, 9pm.