Elder – Self Titled
Review by John Pegoraro (StonerRock.com)
Self released
Release date: 2007


I first heard Elder on their split with Queen Elephantine and they were easily the better of the two. The Fairhaven, Massachusetts band returns with this five song album, and it shows they're on their way to being something pretty fucking special.

The album begins and ends with "Riddle of Steel." The first version is full on Sleep worship and is absolutely massive. What's great about this track is that about three-quarters of the way through, they break from the lumbering avalanche of riffs with a spacey psychedelic section that's got more in common with bands like 35007 before slowly returning to the main groove. It's easily the best song on the album, although "White Walls," with its seamless mix of Electric Wizard and Fu Manchu (seriously - one minute you're with the Wizard in Black and the next you're eating dust) comes close. Second track "Hexe" isn't that bad, but it's also not all that memorable. "Ghost Head" shows the band again melding two convergent s t y l es – this time doom and the staccato grooves of Helmet – but it doesn't pan out quite as well as "White Walls." "Riddle of Steel (Part Two)" isn't so much a reprise of the first song as an alternate take on the central riff. Good stuff, but again it doesn't quite match up to the first version's power.

Elder ultimately teeters on the edge between good and great. While the band wears its influences on its sleeve, Elder still manages to craft something unique and distinct. Definitely a band to watch. URL: http://myspace.com/beholdtheelder
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks to Arz for the review!
Original