The recent crop of "Doom" bands are on pretty thin ice with me. Trad Doom is just fine, but nowadays there is a tendency for bands of this stripe to verge into Stoner or Sludge, and that is not OK with me at all. But I do have to admit a growing taste for the darker, more mystical bands of the breed like Jex Thoth and Hour of 13. Thus when I get a promo like this I am skeptical, but not without hope. Elder are a US band, and despite my misgivings they are pretty fucking awesome.

You know what to expect here: long, slow groovy songs with heavy riffs and some trippy leadwork. There's nothing new here, that's not the point of this kind of Doom at all. The only question is: do they do what they do well or not? Yes they do. Elder get a cool, tube-amp guitar sound and crush some fearsomely catchy riffs. The leadwork is especially tasty, and is often a highlight of the music. Mystical, fantastical lyric themes assure me that this band is on the right track, and there are even some very cool acoustic breaks here and there. Vocals are often a weak point for bands straying into Stoner country, such as Lamp Of Thoth or Gates Of Slumber — betraying their punk origins with awful singers — but Elder have a nice growly-but-tuneful frontman in guitarist Nick Desalvo. He isn't great, but he adds to the cool atmosphere, and he doesn't detract from the music.

If groovy Black Sabbath worship is your thing, then this is the shit. Not to be missed by fans of the style.

http://www.metalcrypt.com/pages/review.php?revid=4302

from Live4Metal.com

This is the first official full-length release from Boston's Elder and it's heavy-duty monster for sure. My initial response that it reminds me a lot of Sleep's Holy Mountain. Perhaps it's more like an album that would have followed had Sleep became heavier and gone a more progressive route. I dare say that Elder have a greater knack for subtlety than Sleep and they be a little less self-aware as well. From the opening notes of "White Walls" I could feel myself being sucked in by the thick, dark sludge being created. They take a basic approach to their music, but that works wonders as they just dip down low and start hammering out the skull-crunching rhythms. Each track just seems to get better as Elder summon up slabs of Sabbath style doom and when needed they call forth some fuzzed out type grooves reminiscent of early Electric Wizard. Yes, indeed this album is a virtual doom paradise that grabs you roughly and drags you ever so slowly down a dark and winding path. Each song has it's own personality and the band seem to gain momentum as they move along. The riffs are mainly slow and deliberate, but you can feel parts multiplying as they move along and become more and more comfortable with what they are constructing. Everything is very deliberate, but they have a strong grasp on how to create and manipulate these massive grooves. This year hasn't had as many good doom albums as I was hoping for, but the Elder's self-titled release does a lot to fill that gap.