Elder
Long-form psychedelic stoner rock that abandoned riff-worship for genuine composition somewhere around album three — twenty-minute pieces that earn every bar.
Elder formed in Massachusetts in 2005, founded by guitarist and vocalist Nick DiSalvo alongside bassist Chas Mitchell and drummer Matt Couto. The band's first release under the name, a split album with the psychedelic outfit Queen Elephantine, appeared in 2006, ahead of a self-titled debut LP in 2009 that worked in a fairly orthodox stoner-doom idiom, built around slow tempos, fuzzed guitars and a central riff.
Mike Risberg joined on guitar and keyboards in 2017, and drummer Georg Edert replaced founding member Matt Couto in 2019, joining DiSalvo and bassist Jack Donovan in the current lineup. The band is now based in Berlin, Germany.
Second album Dead Roots Stirring, released in 2011 on MeteorCity Records, shifted the sound toward stoner rock and psychedelia rather than straight doom. Third album Lore, released in 2015 after the band signed to Stickman Records, pushed further into progressive rock territory, moving away from the earlier riff-centred writing.
The current approach favours extended tracks in which sections develop and give way rather than repeat, with layered guitar lines, keyboards and largely instrumental stretches broken up by sparing vocals. Elder is often grouped with the wider heavy psych scene, though its arrangements sit closer to progressive rock than to conventional doom metal.
Fourth album Reflections of a Floating World, released in 2017, was ranked among Rolling Stone's best metal albums of that year. Eldovar, a collaborative record made with German band Kadavar in 2021 after pandemic-era tours fell through, was followed by Innate Passage in 2022, extending the progressive approach of the prior album Omens. Seventh record Through Zero arrived in 2026, recorded at Big Snuff Studio in Berlin and released through Stickman Records in Europe, Blues Funeral in North America and Bird's Robe in Australia.
Elder at a glance
Where is Elder from?
Elder is from Boston, MA.
What kind of music does Elder play?
Elder is tagged stoner rock and progressive rock.
What festivals has Elder played before?
Elder has played Download 2026.
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