ELDER w/ Ruby The Hatchet, Dreadnought

Elder is a genre-pushing rock band that melds heavy psychedelic sounds with progressive elements and evocative soundscapes. Formed in a small coastal town in Massachusetts in the mid aughts, the band has reinvented their sound over the course of five albums to grow from a stalwart of the stoner/doom scene into one of the most unique voices in the rock underground. Their long-scale compositions unfold as journeys, running the gamut of styles from the 70’s to the present within a single song with a penchant for “sheer gatefold-era grandeur” (Rolling Stone).

By continuing to incorporate new elements to their sound, Elder’s output has repeatedly set benchmarks for their peers. Beginning with 2008’s Elder and 2010’s Dead Roots Stirring, Elder made ripples in the stoner rock scene with their uniquely melodic approach to the genre. In 2015 they surprised again with Lore, a watershed moment in the band’s career (recently crowned “Album of the Decade” by The Obelisk) which brought in elements of post-, prog- and space rock into the Elder sound. Despite several years of heavy touring surrounding the album, Reflections of a Floating World was released just two years later, earning a spot at the top of many best-of lists including Rolling Stone (#5, 20 Best Metal Albums Of 2017), Stereogum and others.

In 2019, a tour pitstop in Berlin, Germany yielded the experimental EP The Gold & Silver Sessions. Recorded live based off ideas largely crafted while on the road, the release showcased Elder’s softer side; motorik beats, lush keyboards and sparse compositions replaced the usual colossal riffs and dense structure. Almost a decade and a half after the first sludgy riffs were recorded and the first demo pressed, the door for Elder stylistically remained wide open.

Elder’s new album Omens answers any speculation about new directions with affirmation: evolution or extinction. Lush, intricately interwoven melodies grow and dissolve into spaced-out jams; massive riffs thunder down into a churning sea of psychedelic sounds and unpredictable grooves carry away the listener. Elder paint pictures with their music, and Omens shows the band experimenting with an even more colorful palette – with good reason. After thirteen years, this is the first full-length recorded with a new lineup including guitarist Michael Risberg and new drummer Georg Edert, along with guest performances by Fabio Cuomo on Rhodes piano and synthesizers.

Ruby the Hatchet:

Forming after a series of basement practices in New Jersey circa 2011 before relocating to Philadelphia, psychedelic quintet Ruby the Hatchet brought together doomy, evil hard rock with occult-flavored psychedelia for a witchy brew of dazzled and ominous wild rock sounds.

For their fourth full-length album “Emergence”, Denver, Colorado doom-prog band DREADNOUGHT follow-up their 2017 “A Wake In Sacred Waves” acclamation with an album that takes their singular multiplex and pictorial sound to new sonic realms even more heavily textile, complex, and vastly designed. “Emergence" sees the four-piece, consisting of vocalist/guitarist/flute player Kelly Schilling, drummer/sax player Jordan Clancy, keyboardist/vocalist Lauren Vieria, and bassist/mandolin player Kevin Handlonl, delving more into heavier and darker sonic territory as well, an aspect that was evident with “A Wake…” but has become fully realized with “Emergence”.

There are a multitude of layers that establish DREADNOUGHT’s sound, making them one of the more unique sounding bands in today’s doom/dark/progressive metal circles. Consisting of a myriad of influences that seamlessly sew their sound together, from prog, doom, folk, jazz, classical/chamber, avant-garde, and even a little bit of black metal managing to find its way into DREADNOUGHT’s audial tapestry, “Emergence” is the culmination of the band’s continued development and evolution, one that began with 2013’s “Lifewoven” LP followed by 2015’s “Bridging Realms” and the aforementioned 2017 LP “A Wake…”.