Elder

Omens

This is the first album I am covering by the stoner metal band, Elder which are most famous for their 2011 release Dead Roots Stirring. Even though with their 2020 album, Omens then moved towards a more progressive rock-oriented style of music with a heavy focus on Heavy Psych with their famous stoner aspects taking more of a back seat in this 5-track album.

So, first thing first, the instrumentals are still as great as ever bring a lot of life into the tracks, especially giving it the ... read more

The vocals suck.

Each song from Elder gives the impression of an explosion of life, tendrils reaching into every available crevice in barely contained ten minute stretches of supercharged evolution. They rumble or burst into multicoloured view, filling our senses before disappearing into the dark, leaving behind a warm afterglow.

Their philosophy is imbued with overwhelming positivity, songs as expressions of gratitude at the beautiful universe we find ourselves in. If sorrow and pain creep in at any point, ... read more

I haven't really gotten into their previous releases. It took me a bit to get into the vocals and I can say I will probably never love them but beyond that the album constantly blows me away with its mildly epic songs. The band hedges on prog and psychedelic rock enough to keep it interesting and to broaden the sound but never takes away from the direction of the music or distracts the listener. The opener Omens and Embers are my favourite tracks but the album is solid throughout. I found ... read more