In Spring 2020, Elder released their fifth album, Omens, and with it established a claim on their most prog leaning interpretation of sprawling heavy rock and roll. Two years later, Innate Passage builds on many similar concepts, but outdoes its predecessor on every level of performance, weight of its impact, interplay between founder Nick DiSalvo and Mike Risberg’s guitars and keys, the now-settled-in drumming of Georg Edert – who made his debut on Omens – and bassist Jack Donovan’s tonal warmth underscoring the shimmer of DiSalvo’s leads.
Whether it’s a shredding lead in the culmination of “Endless Return” or the willfully patient, almost meandering, build into the crescendo and fade of “Merged in Dreams/Ne Plus Ultra,” Elder are poised as never before as they execute this material. In centerpiece “Coalescence,” they offer Opeth-worthy rhythmic intricacy and piano drama offset by crunching heavy guitar and twisting leads, and in “The Purpose,” they craft a wash of melody that is engrossing without sacrificing any clarity of the individual instruments that make it.
As the album ends with soft guitar in an answer to the intro of “Catastasis,” the sense of wholeness that comes through is one more aspect arguing for Elder as singularly crucial. Innate Passage is a culmination of everything they’ve done before, and that’s reason to celebrate, but more, it is that after more than 15 years, they’re still pushing forward to places where neither they nor anyone they’ve influenced have yet gone. – JJ Koczan, Sept. 2022.
Jack Donovan – Bass
Michael Risberg – Guitar, Keyboards
Georg Edert – Drums
Additional keys on “The Purpose” by Fabio Cuomo
Mastered by Carl Saff
The Deathwish Exclusive is limited to 300 on Apple vinyl
Track Listing:
01. Catastasis
02. Endless Return
03. Coalescence
04. Merged In Dreams – Ne Plus Ultra
05. The Purpose