At the end of 2024, Elder looked back on an unusual period in their now near 20-year career. A few years ago, the band had released their most progressive record yet, 2022's highly acclaimed 'Innate Passage', followed by the usual heavy touring schedule, including a 24-show arena tour supporting Tool. The band then took a year-long sabbatical to recharge their creative batteries, which, instead of rest, culminated in the release of multiple albums by side projects.
Convening in the winter of that year for a two-week songwriting session at Big Snuff Studio in Berlin, the band set a goal of knocking off the rust and putting together ideas for the next record. While combing through an archive of old sketches, they hit upon an outline of a song from somewhere between 2020's 'Omens' and its successor 'Innate Passage', abandoned then for reasons now inscrutable. Picking up the pieces with fresh ears, Elder fleshed out a new version of the track, which is firmly rooted between those two albums but with an identity of its own. Building on the song's ending, a swirling tower of synthesizers, chugging guitars, and almost tribal drumming was constructed during lengthy in-studio jams.
'Liminality/Dream State Return' can be seen as a bridge between eras in Elder's creative universe: one foot is planted in the highly melodic and sometimes alternative/grunge-tinged riffing of 'Omens', the other in 'Innate Passage's dreamy prog soundscapes, with its head in the clouds looking toward Elder's upcoming LP 7.
Convening in the winter of that year for a two-week songwriting session at Big Snuff Studio in Berlin, the band set a goal of knocking off the rust and putting together ideas for the next record. While combing through an archive of old sketches, they hit upon an outline of a song from somewhere between 2020's 'Omens' and its successor 'Innate Passage', abandoned then for reasons now inscrutable. Picking up the pieces with fresh ears, Elder fleshed out a new version of the track, which is firmly rooted between those two albums but with an identity of its own. Building on the song's ending, a swirling tower of synthesizers, chugging guitars, and almost tribal drumming was constructed during lengthy in-studio jams.
'Liminality/Dream State Return' can be seen as a bridge between eras in Elder's creative universe: one foot is planted in the highly melodic and sometimes alternative/grunge-tinged riffing of 'Omens', the other in 'Innate Passage's dreamy prog soundscapes, with its head in the clouds looking toward Elder's upcoming LP 7.
TRACK LISTING
1. Liminality / Dream State Return