elder is such a great band. their first self-titled album sees their elaborate sound in an early stage but what comes after, is most likely the best stoner metal i have ever heard. "dead roots stirring" is a revelation of sound, the "spires burn/release" e.p. is more of the same brilliancy and their latest full length from 2015, "lore", is nothing short of a masterpiece. just recently i felt the urge to listen to "lore" again. i have the double clear vinyl edition which stickman records from hamburg pressed on the occasion of their european tour 2015.
while i was listening to the record, i visited the band's social media page to see if they were up to something new in the coming future. checking out the different postings, i came across pictures of a new u.s. pressing for "spires burn/release" and "lore", both on most lovely starburst colour variations. boy, as soon as i saw them i was hooked. i ventured over to the armageddon shop internet page. it's a record store with branches in providence and boston. from time to time they come up with a vinyl pressing of their own for a certain release.
in this case they were responsible for the first "lore" u.s. pressing coming on 180gr black vinyl. they did this re-press in april this year. the prices for both records were reasonable but together with shipping costs, i had to restrain myself and left out "spires burn/release". my crimson red copy looks nice already. "lore" on this hot yellow, green and purple starburst is a pleasure for ears and eyes alike. thanks to armageddon shop for superbly packing the vinyl so that no seam-split could occur, neither on cover sleeve nor on printed dust sleeves. 405 copies made. armageddon shop. 2015/2016.
while i still possess my european edition of "lore" before it will find a new home at the place of a good friend of mine, i thought i show the main difference of the two, which is the die-cut sleeve. the u.s. edition is of normal cardboard and has a more blue tinge to it, whereas the eu edition is of matte cardboard with a more turquoise colour tinge.
