Elder: Ill Omens

Music is timeless. Though albums or songs may be a product of a particular time, the listening experience transcends this, allowing music fans to enjoy and experience tracks decades after they were written and recorded. But while music is timeless, the ongoing global health situation we’re experiencing is firmly grounding many musicians firmly, and frustratingly, in a very particular time and place. “Everything regarding this album has been affected from top to bottom”, explains ELDER guitarist/vocalist Nick DiSalvo when asked how COVID-19 has affected the band and their preparations around new album Omens.

“We can’t tour to promote it, half of our record shipments have been delayed, and there are no record shops open. We’re losing a huge chunk of our livelihoods for the next foreseeable future, and we are incredibly disappointed to sit on our asses while something we worked for years on is released.”

It isn’t just the direct impact on the band that concerns DiSalvo, but the effect on the wider industry; “it looks like the music industry will be amongst the last to get firing on all cylinders again, which is really scary. I hope that everyone can hang on that long, because if there’s one thing we need, it’s art and music!”

When DiSalvo delves into the thematic concept behind Omens, it’s perhaps easy to lean into a certain irony around the ideas at the heart of the record, its title and the current global situation. “It follows the development of a society whose founding principle is progress – technological, economical, and scientific. A society in the modern sense of the word which strives to improve the human condition,” DiSalvo explains. “Yet this progress is taking a toll both on the psyche and the environment, which is clear and evident to see. Despite that, this need for growth can’t be stopped, which leads inevitably to the downfall of this civilization and the restarting of a natural cycle. It speaks to a kind of fatalism that seems pre-programmed in the human brain.” While the album’s themes may be bleak, the musical expression is less so; “musically, the record is not as dark as one might expect from that description. It’s a ‘psychedelic’ rock record with a lot of melody and the usual progressive flourishes.”

ELDER’s last full length, 2017’s Reflections Of A Floating World, went down a storm with fans and critics alike, boosting the band’s renown as stoner/psych scene darlings. Did the band feel any pressure to match or top Reflections… on the follow up? “There’s always an inescapable element of expectation when making a record, but at this point in our career as a band we’re less worried about making something that we think other people will like than with making an album that’s true to ourselves,” DiSalvo explains. “I think people have come to expect ‘more’ always with ELDER records. Omens might surprise some because it feels like a spacious album, even though dense with parts and ideas.”

Although not feeling pressure to come out with a Reflections 2.0, do the band see Omens as a direct spiritual successor to their 2017 effort, or a new page entirely? “I see it as a clear departure in song writing, performance and production,” DiSalvo says. “After Reflections… I really felt burnt out on the heavy riffing. We don’t set guidelines for ourselves when making music, but the ideas I was coming up with when working on Omens were focused differently: open sounds, airy chords and a more subtle progression in the way the instruments speak to each other and interlock in the parts.”

DiSalvo sees a lineage between each ELDER record, rather than a direct debt. “Reflections… polished the sound we started digging at with [2015’s] Lore, but Omens only borrows selectively from that sound.” He believes that bands should continue to challenge themselves, to change and grow. “I don’t really see the point in making the same song twice. Some bands just have “their thing” and stick to it. We probably frustrate a lot of listeners for not doing that, but otherwise we’d just be frustrated ourselves.”

ELDER embracing new sounds and continuing evolution on Omens isn’t the only recent change they have undergone – guitarist/keyboardist Mike Risberg and drummer Georg Edert have stepped into the fold for the new record, bringing with them new skills that have made their mark on the album.

“Both Mike and Georg have a lightness of touch that’s new to us,” says DiSalvo. “ELDER has always been quite heavy-handed, even when playing lighter psychedelic jams. Mike has a totally different tonal approach to the guitar than I do, and you really can hear different minds at work on the new album. Though Georg only joined us recently, he had big expectations to meet and had to learn to play all the new material within a pretty short time. He is less of a ‘basher’ and more subtle and groovy, and we vibe really well when improvising and jamming. This is a different band entirely than the ELDER of Dead Roots Stirring.”

Speaking of the ELDER that recorded Dead Roots Stirring, if DiSalvo could warp back to speak to an earlier iteration of the band, what pearls of wisdom would he pass on to their younger selves? “Tour as much as you can now, boys, ‘cause in 15 years you won’t be able to anymore! In all seriousness, I don’t know what I’d tell myself back then because I’m pretty happy with the way things have ended up so far. Maybe lay off the beers in 2015…”

Recording an album is a logistical challenge enough, seeing band members balancing personal, family and employment responsibilities against committing to often gruelling recording sessions. ELDER have seemingly decided that this isn’t enough of a challenge, and have thrown physical distance and time zones into the mix.

“The band has been split between the US and Germany now for some years, which led to me becoming the principal songwriter on the last few records,” DiSalvo explains. “I wrote Omens over the course of the past few years, recording demos and sending to the US contingency. A year ago, Mike also moved to Germany and we spent a bit of time hashing out the songs together. It was cool to have some more input on this record. When it was time to go, our bassist flew out to Berlin and we made the final versions of the songs together over the course of a month and a half before leaving for Studio Black Box in France. We had already decided to go to a live-in studio and wanted to get away from the city, to be able to concentrate fully on the record and be in peaceful natural surroundings. Black Box is like a paradise in that way: recording and living in converted farmhouses in western France.”

Frustratingly for both band and fans, it’s currently unclear when they might be able to get out on the road and bring the new tracks from Omens onto the stage. Fans can take solace in the fact that DiSalvo and co are using the enforced downtime to their advantage. “With all our plans sidelined, we’re working on more music. Our side project GOLD & SILVER has also recently returned to work in the past month, working on a new record. I guess we’ve got plenty of time for both now.”

Omens is out now via Stickman Records.

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