elder - gold & silver sessions

not the elder release with the most play time on my set but their compositions are always worth my while. blues funeral records. 2019/2022.

elder - innate passage

amazing how this band delivers one masterpiece after the other. really happy about this u.s 'lava stone' grey marble edition snagged at grindpromotion records. released through armageddon shop. 2023.

elder - omens

elder is one of my favourite bands. they started out as a stoner band with potential and have developed into a full-on progressive entity which is hard to categorise. elder sound like elder and like nothing else. indeed it was out of the question whether to get the new album or not.

although i was tempted to get a u.s. version of "omens" on armageddon shop records, the damned shipping costs put me off. i opted for a nice euro version by stickman records instead. clear light blue marble vinyl is a perfect match and sounds brilliant, the whole album does. but that's what i was expecting all along. stickman records. 2020.

elder - the gold & silver sessions

an e.p. by the world's best psych/stoner/prog band around. since one member moved from the states to berlin, germany, the band rarely comes together aside from touring or studio time. this record documents such a rare time, a jam even more playful and proggy than their previous stuff. can't wait for the new elder record in 2020. blues funeral recordings. 2019.

elder - live at roadburn 2013

three weeks ago two of my best friends and me were on a trip to hamburg to catch one of our favourite bands live. elder is the name and i was pretty excited to see them. i missed them last year and therefore i was almost hysteric when i learned about the concert in hamburg a few months ago. on a little side note i also wanted to snag a little piece of u.s. vinyl of the new record "reflections of a floating world". the gig was on a monday and the day started out with constant heavy raining.

the highway to hamburg was blocked because of a construction site and so we thought to get to the city via ordinary roads. those were inaccessible as well because of another construction site. so we drove to wedel, a small town near hamburg with access to public transport. halfway in hamburg we had to get out of the train because of yet another construction site. so we took a rail replacement bus, hopped into another train and finally arrived after two and half hours. usually the trip takes an hour.

we missed one of the two supporting bands but that wasn't too much of an issue. when elder started their set, the small venue with a capacity of maybe 200-300 people was on fire. great set list with mainly new songs and a great atmosphere between crowd and band. the only tiny downer was that the band didn't carry any u.s. vinyl but the european edition instead, which i already own. in hindsight that seems very plausible. on such a small d.y.i. euro tour the band only took the most important merch with them. the european label delivered the vinyl. next to a shirt and a patch i still bought some elder vinyl.

they released a live record from the 2013 edition of roadburn festival in the netherlands. recently burning world records re-pressed this record on opaque red and green vinyl and i actually wanted to pick up a copy before but never came around to it. so this was the chance. after a little chat with some band members at their merch table after the concert, i took my stuff and was delighted to find the green vinyl inside the gatefold. an all around great gig with good friends. what more can a guy ask for? the record itself is a mix of mainly songs from their "dead roots stirring" album and one from their self-titled debut. solid performance with nice artwork. burning world records/roadburn records. 2013/2017.

elder - reflections of a floating world

the new elder release is finally here and again the trio from massachusetts crafted a truly mesmerising piece of art. on their self-titled debut elder had yet to find theirselves but "dead roots stirring" from 2011 and "lore" from 2015 were nothing short of masterpieces. the guys created a mix of heaviness and atmosphere that is unparalleled in the stoner rock genre and beyond. of course i was very excited to hear the band was releasing a new record in early june. that was at some point in march, i believe. almost every day i checked the band's facebook page eagerly awaiting the pre-orders to go live.

in contrast to "lore" where the first press came on black vinyl only, both european (stickman records) and u.s. (armageddon shop) label offered coloured vinyl. while there are several u.s. versions floating around offered by several sources, stickman records made one vinyl edition available. a lovely sea foam green colour-way. as i definitely found one or another u.s. vinyl colour attractive as well, i didn't want to pay up for international shipping. so i jumped at the stickman pre-orders as soon as it was up and at the end of may i was the proud owner of a vinyl copy of the new elder record, called "reflections of a floating world".

what can i say, again elder gave us a record full of spaced out and dreamy progressive rock/stoner hymns. everything is pure gold on this record. if you like bands such as baroness or mastodon, you have found your new favourite band in elder. i am always a bit puzzled as to why these guys don't gain much more recognition. the artwork by adrian dexter is another milestone in his ongoing collaboration with the band. simply beautiful. the art and lettering on the slip sleeve come with a spot gloss print while the white upper bar is of normal cardboard. printed dust sleeves, an insert with all lyrics and nice 180gr sea foam green round out the lovely package. stickman records. 2017.

post scriptum: i am pretty excited to see elder live in hamburg on 24th of july with two good friends. we'll see if the band carries some tour vinyl. so probably there will be more elder vinyl on here soon...

elder - lore (armageddon pressing)

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.

elder - lore

i am back from vacation and of course i picked up some records, but i'll need some days to listen my way through the new shit. for today i am going to deal with a record that is in my possession quite recently too. not long ago i was writing about three elder records i obtained in one fell swoop. at the time 'lore' was already released but on black vinyl only. i couldn't believe that for such a great psych/doom/stoner band there wasn't any request for some nice coloured vinyl.

i said to myself to wait something like a year for a second press. there is so much good music floating around that i could stand a year of waiting and if there still was no colour vinyl i still could get the black version instead. so i checked the label's facebook page constantly waiting for good news. they came earlier than i anticipated. a month or so ago stickman records announced to press a tour edition of 'lore' on clear vinyl. yes! the only thing that could have gotten in the way was that it sold out on tour.

as you can see it didn't. as soon as stickman put it up on their web-page i snagged a copy. looks and sounds real nice on clear vinyl. 'lore' is another masterpiece and every bit as good as 'dead roots stirring'. go get it! meanwhile check out 'compendium' and 'legend'. the record is issued on double heavy weight vinyl, printed dust sleeves and a die-cut cover sleeve. so you can choose your favourite piece of art from the dust sleeves to show through. comes with cd of the album. 500 copies made. stickman records. 2015.

elder - spires burn / release

so this release right here was my last elder catch at burnout record store. in 2012 they released a two song e.p. simply named after the containing two songs 'spires burn / release'. it was the first record i threw on the turntable in the store to check its content. when i dropped the needle on it i was very surprised at what hit my ears.

it sounded strangely unfamiliar to the stuff i heard from 'lore' and 'dead roots stirring' on the internet. the voice was quirky and the riffs played at an odd pace. after five minutes of listening and wondering i recognised that the little '45rpm' lamp was gleaming while the record is played at 33rpm. oh man, so i lifted the needle, pushed the 33rpm button and started all over again.

now everything was in apple-pie order again. elder sounded just the way i remembered. those two songs are well packed with psychadelic melodies and stoner metal riffs at their best. check those two crackers at the elder bandcamp page. the e.p. was released by armageddon shop which is really a physical store, or better two stores - one in providence and the other in boston. this is the 2014 re-press on opaque crimson red. armageddon shop. 2012.

elder - dead roots stirring

whoa! didn't see that coming. their first, self-titled album was good, sure but it really didn't herald what 'dead roots stirring' was holding. but from the beginning. as you could read in the preceding post i found this record at burnout record store, or rather i overlooked it. at first sight i believed it to be another copy of the self-titled one.

only when i considered what records i should buy among the ones i picked for quick listenings, i realised that there was a copy of 'dead roots stirring' waiting for me. suddenly i was hopping around like a little child bursting with excitement. as i actually already forgot about the re-press it was pretty cool to have a copy in hands now.

i spared me the quick listen and took all the three elder records burnout had to offer. the music of 'dead roots...' is simply awesome. all five songs are absolute crackers. elder evolved from their solid stoner metal of the first record into a dreamy and melodic stoner monster which can't be denied. if i should compare them to other bands, i'd say they sound like the perfect mixture of high on fire's stoner urge and baroness' feeling for melodics.

the band hails from boston/providence and is a three-piece. they say about themselves that since this record the band tries to take the legacy of sleep and black sabbath and arrange their own unique wall of sound around this basis. with their lengthy epics they do just that. check out the whole album via this tube link and then go get a copy here.

the album was released through meteor city records and the vinyl rights were liscensed to headspin from the netherlands. this is the second re-press, so three pressings in total. the gatefold sleeve is graced with beautiful artwork. those smooth lines and warm colours. on top the lovely vinyl colour match. 200 copies on wine red with black marble vinyl. headspin records. 2011/2015.

elder - s/t

i didn't hear much about elder in the past. even though i am on quite a doom/stoner kick as of lately and i definitely hear some high on fire references here, it seems the band is widely overlooked. but maybe that is just my perception. i am not quite sure anymore if that was the way i stumbled upon elder first but i have read an review for the new record 'lore' in the fuze magazine.

the fuze magazine is a fine german hardcore and metal fanzine which i get with orders or can take for free at burnout record store or other stores. it features a lot of interesting interviews and helpful reviews, as they don't praise every new album in principle. they do real statements and i appreciate this. the review to 'lore' however was pretty positive and so i checked them.

i listened to some stuff of said new album and some tunes of 'dead roots stirring' and i really liked what i heard. so i checked the net for physical copies. i came across a dutch label called headspin records that recently re-pressed the first two elder records. just in time for the new album 'lore'. business sense they call that and i am right there to open my wallet.

when i wanted to order the records, headspin didn't have them in stock yet. as i couldn't find any information as to when they would be available, i forgot about it. just too many other pre-orders going on these days. when my girlfriend and me were killing time in hamburg two weeks ago, of course i was visiting burnout record store and couldn't overlook a bulging elder section. except of 'lore' and the roadburn live album, which i don't want anyway, they had all elder vinyl releases in stock.

the first i feature here is the self titled debut from 2008. maybe this album will grow on me over time but for now it's essential to understand elder's background but not for the music on its own. it's not bad by far, great stoner metal but it lacks those unbelievable catchy hooks of later work and therefore misses a bit of idividuality. still a damn solid debut. the re-press looks way more red than mixed with gold. the streaks in the third picture are actually the gold marble. beautiful artwork. 200 copies made. headspin records. 2015.