Review by Adam M on August 10, 2015.

The band Elder is a breath of fresh air for the stoner metal genre. They utilize long songs and plenty of post moments to craft some of the more interesting portions this genre has seen in some time.

Right from the first track Compendium, plenty of energy can be found. This band has an excitement level that is right through the roof and it is detected in this first track alone. The first huge guitar riff that emanates from the album recalls the likes of Led Zeppelin’s The Immigrant Song greatly. One might think that a similar style would be followed throughout, but this band injects more than enough variety to keep the listener captivated at all points. There are also a fair number of dynamic shifts in this album that allows the band to pull its feet out of being completely present in the stoner genre. There are quieter moments on the album that help bridge the gap between portions that contain overwhelmingly huge riffs. Though the band plays large tribute to bands like Kyuss, there are still moments that recall more recent bands like Baroness. However, it’s the constantly changing type of music that is hard to put an overall label on and constantly interests. The band even has psychedelic moments that would make the listener want to lump them in with music from the older days. If there are any weak moments to the band, it’s in the long jam moments. Sometimes Elder wants to keep going with their songs in different directions while a more direct approach could have been used. Also, there are many moments that seem like they are too derivative of other bands present.

The instrumental portions of this album are mostly done with the highest of quality. The vocalist sounds sort of different for this particular genre, but suits the music quite well. Overall, Lore is in direct competition with Royal Thunder’s Crooked Doors for best stoner metal album of the year at this point.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10