25 Gen Elder – Dead Roots Stirring (2011)
ELDER – Dead Roots Stirring
Meteorcity 2011
Roots are dead, but with such a record they could come back to life at any time! Dead Roots Stirring sounds indeed a magic potion that can give oxygen to a genre – stoner rock – which is often thought as monotonous and derivative. In few years Elder has reached a good popularity and represent one of the best heavy psych act coming from the US and this is proved somehow by their homonymous first record [Elder 2009].
Anyhow, Dead Roots Stirring sounds very different to my hears, there’s something a little bit more “european” in the riffing, in vocals parts, something that reminds Motorpsycho’s “little lucid moments”, especially in tracks like the super-concluding anthem “Knot”, a guitar touch that has let himself get inspired but Stephan Koglek’s Colour Haze master – you can hear it in the opener “Gemini” 
and within the title track “Dead Roots Stirring”.
Fourth track “The End” is maybe the most traditional stoner rock episode within the album and enforces all the elements handled with absolute expertise in the other 4 songs of the album. But as every wizard know, magic comes out from stirring given ingredients. So Elder did, managing in synthesizing a never-heard-before melt of heaviness, lights and suggestions – also thanks to excellent vocals and guitar parts by Nick Di Salvo and great bass filling by Jack Donovan. The synthesis of this magic is set within the third track, called “III” where acoustic guitars help a shamanic snare drumming held by Matt Couto until a new, higher level of spell is reached.
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