27022015 - Elder "Lore"

When I first heard Elder's 2011 album, "Dead Roots Stirring" it felt like rediscovering heavy music. Just like when I discovered Motorpsycho or The God Machine. I have spent so much time pushing that Elder album onto friends, acquaintances and random music lovers in general that I never gave any thought to the fact that they would eventually record another album, and that my expectations by then would be too high no matter what they did. Nevertheless, here that album is, and I need to tell the world how I feel. As on "DRS" there's all of five songs on "Lore",  and from the first song, "Compendium", which was the first taster, by now already embedded in my brain - I get the impression that Elder have gotten more progressive this time around. Thankfully this has not made them less heavy, doomy or riff-loving. Although there seems to be no planet-building majestic moments like on "III" from "Dead Roots Stirring", there's still enough heaviosity to make this more than a worthy follow-up. I must say that even after the fifth listen (remember - this blog is me listening to an album I have not heard before today, so no second day impressions are allowed!) this record doesn't surpass its predecessor, but that, however, was never expected. A brilliant follower is more than good enough for the time being. Ask me again if this album is better than "Dead Roots Stirring" in a year's time, because that's when I'll know. Until then, I'm happy to have a record that at least more than lives up to my very modest expectations. And kudos for bringing in strings that remind me of Motorpsycho on "Trust Us"!

Oh - here's the entire album, by the way. I Give it 11 points out of 10!