ELDER

Elder is a Heavy Prog band, but this particular album is more of a progressive metal offering. This self titled work is the first real album of theirs, if you haven't listened to this band before, don't bother with the demos as they don't represent the current iteration of the group. While still early in their music exploration, the elements that make them great are already here. This band is a trio consisting of Matt Couto on drums, Jack Donovan on bass, and Nick DiSalvo on guitar. The percussion is alright, but doesn't stand out and relies too much on cymbals. The bass playing is better, dancing along with the guitar rather than mimicking it like many other metal bands do. Where this band really shines is with the guitar playing, DiSalvo being the mastermind here providing epic leads and exciting riffs. There are also keyboards in a couple songs, though they are primarily pads, occasionally providing psych moments.

The music here is some of the heaviest and most aggressive in their entire discography. The progressive aspect is mostly with the length of these songs. "WHITE WALLS" kicks the album off with a deep and distorted bass line, followed by the rest of the instruments. Despite being the shortest song on the album, it's still nearly seven minutes long. The best part is towards the end with an awesome guitar solo followed by synth pads; this part especially pumps me up. "HEXE" is the best song here, even though this album is rather consistent in terms of quality. The tempo keeps changing throughout the song keeping the listener on edge. Being mostly instrumental, the guitar gets plenty of moments for epic riffing. Once again, the best part of the song (and album) is the end, I don't want to spoil it because it really is my favorite moment and want you to experience it for yourself, so pay attention around 6:45. "RIDDLE OF STEEL" is a two part epic. Most of the good stuff happens in the first part as the second primarily rehashes part one, though two is still good. This song is notable for having the most psychedelic section on the album with its atmospheric synth pads followed by a wah wah driven guitar solo. GHOST HEAD is another favorite of mine. This one starts off rather bluesy before heavy guitar riffs take over. The best part here, as per usual on this album, is at the end with one of the heaviest and most brutal moments Elder ever recorded.

This album is good, but not essential. Don't be mistaken as I love this album and personally recommend it to all fans of metal. I'd say this one is closer to 3.5 out of 5 rating but will round down to 3 just to be fair for their future releases.