Two years on from 2020’s ‘Omens’, Berlin based quartet, Elder, return with latest album ‘Innate Passage’. Straddling the line between psychedelic stoner metal and prog rock, Elder are a band lacking in neither ambition nor technicality. Their ability to tour almost relentlessly while steadily releasing stand-out albums is nothing short of awe-inspiring. From the gritty stoner jams of ‘Dead Roots Stirring’ right the way through to ‘Innate Passage’ their evolution has been continuous. Their latest effort looks to be their most polished yet.
What makes ‘Innate Passage’ such a pleasure to listen to is the mastery each band member has of their respective instruments. There’s flamboyancy, complexity and innovation, with zero pretense. Every dramatic guitar flourish and squealing solo serves to add purpose. While each song is something of a behemoth in terms of duration (average run time is around 10 minutes each across five tracks), from start to finish there is a continuous surge of vivacity. No filler to be found here. It’s an impressive feat to have total command over your listeners for such a lengthy period and Elder accomplish this with finesse.
Elder have come a long way in 16 years and show no signs of stopping or slowing down. They simply get better with each release. Given the intricacies and captivating melodies of ‘Innate Passage’, this will be a tricky album to top. However, if there’s a band that’s up to the task then it’s certainly Elder and it will be exciting to hear how they do it. If Elder are a band that you’ve slept on until now, then this is an excellent record to start with. Absolutely sublime.
(8/10 Angela Brown)
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