November 22, 2022 by A.S. Van Dorston

Elder reach a towering pinnacle and possibly save the world with a magic everlasting gobstopper.

It can be challenging to remain a longtime fan of a band. Some unceremoniously disappear for a half dozen years or more without a peep, others release dud albums that you try and fail to love, or completely shift direction and genre, which lately usually means abandoning guitars for synths as if that half-century old technology is somehow going to keep them relevant. In many cases it just reflects a lack of confidence and faith in their original creative arc. Fortunately, such is not the case with Elder, who have released their sixth and, depending on which phase of Elder you favor, best album.

In preparing for this review I re-listened to their entire catalog, starting with their self-titled 2008 debut. It’s remarkable to hear how Nicholas DiSalvo’s vocals have evolved. Back then he had a gravelly growl that paid homage to Matt Pike (Sleep, High on Fire, Grammy winner!). Their least original work, yet still immensely satisfying stoner doom statement from the time. A reissue includes four completely different songs as demo tracks that suggest an alternate direction the band could have gone in, involving lots of shrieking and heavier sludge metal. They could have done well with it, but I’m glad they didn’t, as there’s plenty of bands around who fill that bucket of blood and gristle.

Instead, they pursued an adventurous psych prog path along the lines of the diverse, prolific Norwegian band Motorpsycho, though more in spirit than sound. Fifth album Omens (2020) presented a veer to the left that raised some eyebrows with DiSalvo’s introduction of some clean vocals unadorned by thunderous echo effects influenced by, of all things, slowcore indie rock. It worked just great in my book, even if it might not surpass their masterpiece Reflections of a Floating World (2017) or Lore (2015). The band seems to have a firm goal in their sites, and won’t allow themselves to be derailed into any genre rabbitholes, as Innate Passage proves. Also, DiSalvo took advantage of the pandemic in order to stretch out his creative urges with a few side projects and minor releases, starting with the jammy kosmische of The Gold & Silver Sessions (2019), the Hirschbrunnen (2021) solo album under the name delving, and a collaboration with German band Kadavar, the space rock concept album ELDOVAR: A Story of Darkness & Light (2021). All are great projects, and nice supplements for Elder fans craving new content.

But the latest albums shows the band more focused than ever in perfecting their signature style. The album title and cover art (what looks like a portal to another dimension inside a white Everlasting Gobstopper) could indicate an inner rather than cosmic journey that originates in the mind. Along with the trend of microdosing psilocybin, some scientists and physicians think magic mushrooms could actually reverse personality disorders and political fanaticism. Now I’m daydreaming about an human extinction event averted by psilocybin gobstoppers. Now that’s the kind of innate passage I’d love to see reach clinical trials.

DiSalvo probably just meant to be introspective and philosophical, not realizing his album is so awesome it can save the world. It sure sounds like it could. “Catastasis,” the third part of a Greek drama where the action builds to a catastrophe, shows he’s been fine-tuning his vocal chops, arrangements and harmonies (assisted by Behrang Alavi of Berlin’s Samavayo) with the same care he achieves his guitar tones. While there a brief passages of soft guitar picking and Mike Risberg’s noodly keyboards, the song reaches skull crushing volumes that haven’t been heard since Lore. Alavi also assists with vocals on “Endless Return,” which is overstuffed with amazing riffs, ebb and flow dynamics, mellotron and sizzling solos.

The heavy topics, sounds and song lengths might suggest an overbearingly maximalist statement, but that’s not the case. While Elder has been navigating from stoner doom and psych into more proggy territory, they’ve also learned lessons of minimalism from certain strains of kosmische/space rock and post-rock. There are certainly passages of frantic riffing, but the majority of the time the music floats and pulses with simple beauty, changing shape rather than taking linear paths. “Coalescence” makes elegant use of repetition, while “Merged In Dreams – Ne Plus Ultra,” at 14:43, the second longest song in the band’s catalog after “Lore,” balances the arpeggios and chugs with some delicate chiming and slowly unfolding, mournful melodies. Innate Passage feels like the culmination of a journey, at least in terms of being a crowning achievement in Elder’s initial six album run of classics. I have no doubt it’s only the first of many musical journeys, and I look forward to the trips.

Elder enter the 6 Album Run Club

As I mentioned in the beginning, releasing six consecutive great albums is not easy feat. Elder has been one of my favorite bands for over a decade, and this is yet another achievement that only Colour Haze and Motorpsycho have equaled this century. For my all-time 6 album run rankings, this puts them in the top 30 over illustrious company like Joni Mitchell, Melvins, Queen, AC/DC and Creedence Clearwater Revival. Other inductees this year include And Also The Trees, The Black Angels, My Sleeping Karma, Crippled Black Phoenix and Wovenhand. I’d hoped Graveyard and TV On the Radio would have come out with a sixth album, but not yet. As I discussed in my recent book reviews, there are no longer rock stars these days like there used to be due to lack of critical and popular consensus. I could care less. These bands are my classic rock.