Review by Rexorcist for Elder - Lore (2015)

Elder's next on my 2026 goals, so I figured I might as well get through any Elder albums I haven't gotten through yet. I don't really have much to say about this except that this album is perfect for the Monster Magnet fans if you like your stoner and psych drawn out. The album's songwriting is straightforward, never outgoing with wild solos and sticking to the melodic variety and essence. But since Elder is habitually monolithic, this means we're in for a series of epics. Now for some, typically myself, this may be a problem if they don't expand enough. But it tweaks around with post-metal ambience and gritty sludge, occasionally going vocal. Because of both the melodies and the lyrics, the album maintains that surreal wonder that any good psych album needs, and the lyrical style makes up for the otherwise decent vocals. Totally not standing out at all. While the album FEELS the same throughout most of its runtime, and many of the tricks they pull have been done before by other artists, they still manage a good number of tricks and directions. And thanks to a careful collective of genres that work very well together (maybe too well), the album checks a lot of boxes for rock fans. And the best thing about the album is how hard-hitting they are. If this is a rock album instead of metal, it's really no surprise while some people think of it as metal. We're not dealing with a simple-minded mislabelling akin to AC/DC here. They push the buttons of are-hitting with much of what they're doing. So while the compositions aren't the most brilliant, it's difficult not to get behind them and feel like your space trucking through the galaxy with an uzi on your hip, even when the album's sound gets more contemplative.

Well, I liked this one. It got a little more surprising as it went along, the stoner vibes were quite enjoyable, and it bore great stoner metal energy even when it wasn't being a metal album. Glad I finally got around to this.

89