Some of doom metal’s deepest dredgers are more purely experiential, driven by a how-low-can-you-go ethos. But, with clear songwriting and extraordinary melodic narrative that truly takes you on a voyage, Boston stoner doom band Elder are as much a musical experience. None of that, however, is to imply that these guys aren’t heavy as fuck. They are, after all, in the same viscous bloodline as heavyweights like Sabbath and Sleep. But with opuses that swell, crest and crash in tides of fat canyon grooves and gigantic, slithering psych-blues riffs, they maybe do it with a little more style and scope. The homegrown support talent makes this a particularly loaded show. Besides the violent combustibility of Orlando’s own doom dealers Fire in the Cave and Demons, Orlando-Jacksonville’s Hollow Leg are one of the country’s nastiest heavy bands right now, whether anyone realizes it yet or not. – Bao Le-Huu
This article appears in Jun 20-26, 2012.
