Reflections of a Floating World was my introduction to the magnificent Elder back in 2017. And what an introduction it was! Elder modestly describe their blend of Black Sabbath-indebted doom metal, progressive rock, and post-hardcore as heavy psychedelic rock. This makes sense when you consider the transcendental qualities of their soaring guitar work, but doesn’t account for the weighty, fizzling distortion and muscular chords which underpin their massive compositions. Elder started out as a homage to Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian and you can still feel the beef-cake conqueror's influences in this set of maverick tracks- even despite the group's frequent digressions into space rock and ambient noise. The places they explore can be harrowing, epic, and bizarre. Their journies are for those whose constitutions are girded by cast iron. For those with an appetite for adventure, take heed of the post-hardcore ark work that buttresses the black magic charted galactic voyage of “The Falling Veil," witness the uncanny balance of dergey doom riffs and delicate synth vibrations as they are enveloped in a massive cloud of smokey feedback, billowing up as if from a dragon's snout on “Blind," and discover the enlightened passage to a realm of intrigue through the ambient jazz spell and mantra-core maneuvers of “Sonntag.” Now, two roads lay before you: the way of the mystic warrior and the path of the naive. One will sink below the waves that rage against the cliffs and bluffs. The other will summon the power to walk upon the inky black surface of this tempest as if it were solid ground. Your election will seal your fate. Choose wisely.
