Elder is already back.
Formed in 2006 in the United States, the band composed of Nick DiSalvo (guitar/vocals/keyboards), Mike Risberg (guitar/keyboards), Jack Donovan (bass) and Georg Edert (drums) has gained a reputation in the Stoner/Doom world. In 2022, the musicians announced the release of Innate Passage, their sixth album, on Stickman Records.
The album opens with Catastasis, a track which quickly reveals the soaring, mysterious influences the band has acquired over time while letting the heady, groovy rhythmic basis slowly build. Psychedelic sounds join the mix before letting vocals come in on those catchy riffs, then guitars come in again to shroud us with their thoughtful harmonics before keyboards drive us to Endless Return, a soothing composition which picks into Hard Rock influences with ever more developed leads. The addition of vocals makes the track very accessible while calling upon ever more crazy and polished roots, while Coalescence unveils more energetic and catchy patterns to place its enchanting leads, as well as some vocal bursts. The atmosphere is still quite soft, letting musicians add keyboards or more harmonics while allowing an important place to the rhythmic section, then the long Merged In Dreams – Ne Plus Ultra allows them to let their creativity run free for almost a quarter of an hour which will mix softness, soaring sounds and haunting vocals, but also more vivid or hypnotic elements. We will for example notice these accelerations coupled with a very regular technicality, but also this break which lets the sound progressively drive us to The Purpose, a rather “short” last track compared to the others, which will place us inside a cloud of airy riffs while offering the group the possibility to place all their most psychedelic and surprising sounds before gradually fading out.
Elder‘s sound has always been very rich, and the band exactly knows how to incorporate new and complementary influences. With Innate Passage, expect to be mesmerized, but also surprised and amazed by a soaring sound.
85/100
