Elder has been on a journey the last few records. Ever since their inception, each release sees them injecting their stoner/doom metal with ever-increasing doses of good ol’ fashioned prog rock. Each subsequent album sees the influence needle move away from Black Sabbath and closer to Rush. Their last record, Omens, made me wonder if some future record would see them abandoning any semblance of metal in their sonic palette.
You might be able to argue that Innate Passages is that record. There are more keyboards and clean guitars than ever before. But I’m not sure if Elder themselves are that concerned with a metal/non-metal binary. They seem far more content to just rock the hell out.
Innate Passages follows the same formula as always: there are five tracks, all marked with extended instrumental passages punctuating the brief, cryptic lyrics. Only one song is shorter than nine minutes, and only by a few seconds. The band will build on a riff for a few minutes, vocals will sing a few lines, then the instruments take over for minutes at a time. The vocals might come back for a reprise of the earlier section, or they might not. The vocals have never been the main attraction in Elder’s music, and they aren’t changing that now, even if Innate Passages does feature their best vocal performances.
But even as familiar as it feels, this might be the most technical and nuanced Elder record to date. Individual riffs are given less prominence, instead focusing on the overall groove between all players. The dynamic range is also wider than ever, which creates some truly stunning moments. The most stunning of which is in the second half of the fifteen-minute “Merged in Dreams – Ne Plus Ultra,” where the bombast of guitars and drums pull back to reveal a bubbling sea of synthesizers, cascading over one another like a sonic fountain. Guitars slowly join with countermelodies until the band explodes with a triumphant burst of volume before fading seamlessly into closer “The Purpose.”
Is it metal? I’m not sure. I don’t think Elder cares, and I’m not sure I do either. The real question is, “does it rock?” and the answer there is a resounding “hell yes.”
Innate Passages is out now through Armageddon Shop.
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