Elder

Heralding from Massachusetts, Stoner Metal Pioneers deemed Elder pay homage to such doom metal forerunners like Sleep, Electric Wizard, and Black Sabbath from their very first Split with Queen Elephantine. For a first release, "heavy" is an understatement: a Lo-Fi, often-muddied recording sound render's Elder's already-thick bass and guitar tones even more dungeony and plodding. Nick DiSalvo's Gregorian-sounding vocals usher in the dirge of doom and destruction in "Black Midnight" and early-Sleep-esque "Soul Incarnate." 

Soon after, Elder's debut LP featuring a king in utter despair as his kingdom is milliseconds away from the brink of destruction from encroaching tidal waves waves. The album reflects a medieval vibration of tales of such destruction with "Hexe" and "The Riddle of Steel" Parts 1 and 2. Thick layers of fuzz encapsulate Elder's low-bass grooves with intricate changes--all the while laying the seeds of future Doom with wickedly down-tuned stoner licks. 

Suddenly, Elder's sound ignites in very unexpected directions: departing from the drone-like sounds of their first two projects, Elder's 2011 Dead Roots Stirring begins with an entirely new, brighter style of fuzz in the song Gemini, one of the 5 total tracks clocking in over 9 minutes long. Keystone Elder tempo changes and transition riffs usher in an evolving doom salad as the drums and crushing bass tones enter the stoner licks. 


Even more profound is the second and title track, 12-minutes of destruction introducing their new vocal style: a friendlier, righteous declaration of energy. Tapping into Sword-esque acoustic roots, "III" showcases a unique dynamic towards explosive sound, all the while remaining emotionally resilient with the other tracks on the album. Digging into even deeper territories of embodying the concept of "epic" metal, the closing songs on the album, "The End" an "Knot" kickstart in a similar obliterating fashion while shifting into fully-building and musically-accelerating climactic releases of alchemical power. Ch'yea!

Exploring an even more dynamic between chaos, order, and re-genesis, Elder's newest 2012 EP featuring the song Release infuses the same ingredients into even more sentimental heights of awareness. On the brink of disaster and destruction, Elder rises from the ashes both lyrically and musically by conquering even mightier sounds and channeling the most warmly, yet bright fuzzy chords. Like real demi-gods, the anticipation of their next arrival is almost too great of a burden for mortal man to bear.


And a 2010 live performance, enjoy the prototypes of Dead Roots Stirring and The End, which appear to be in drop tuning.


Cheers,

SubTemplum and King Bong