Previously somewhat in thrall to classic Black Sabbath, Boston’s Elder have become something of a progressive juggernaut on this, their third album. These are tunes forged in the experimental heat of the jam room, multi-layered epics of searing light and darkest shadow, elemental in their power, scope and scale.
Compendium kicks things into motion, unmistakably setting the tone for the five-song cycle; colossal riffs unfold like the titanic grind of tectonic plates, with a bottom end as deep as the Mariana Trench.
Legend, Lore, Deadweight and Spirit At Aphelion are positively oceanic in their crash and surge, with delicate melodies and lighter passages punctuating the rolling, labyrinthine song structures. Through bold immensity, Elder have set the psych stoner bar perilously high./o:p
