There are days when you just wanna riff the fuck out but since (some of) you, like myself, are talentless hacks (RedLetterMedia fans where you at?), the second option is simply listening to other people riffing the fuck out. It's honestly the better one as you're free to do whatever whilst being blessed by many a guitar brs, plonks, pew pews and whatever other onomatopoeia fails to elude me because of how LIMITED the English language is. Yeah you heard me... phonetically richest my butt.
So, with that out of the way, allow me to set the stage.
The year is 2018 and a marginally younger blob of glorious Slavic curls finds himself on a gig with his friends. Gods was that year was packed with insane shows... Anyways, the concert in question were Elder and Ancestors. Both debuting in Croatia and I still consider it among the better gigs I've attended. The sound, energy, performances and material played were everything I wished for. And let me tell you, considering Elder were promoting Reflections Of A Floating World at that point, I was livid! And guess what, today marks the fifth anniversary of this modern classic so let's celebrate!
Like hinted at the very beginning, this baby riffs and while that is most times mentioned, as it should be, I feel there's much more to this hazy voyage than it meets the ears. I think. I am kinda going with the flow here so stay with me.
Now, at this point I am pretty sure I can say how I remember the release day as I vividly remember hearing "Compendium" a year or so prior. Like many, this was the introduction to Elder and like many, I found myself confounded at how big and epic everything sounded, reminiscent of older Mastodon but felt more nimble and fluid. Unpredictable. Exciting! It was refreshing back then when I was deep into my doom and stoner phase let alone today after I've mostly grown tired of that sound. Barring Weedpecker, Yob, Khemmis, Pallbearer, Messa and a handful of others, I rarely listen to anything. Elder though were always a constant and it's mostly thanks to Reflections Of A Floating World's towering influence over me. It spoiled me so much that almost every other record in this genre group that followed felt lesser and inferior.
Sounds a bit unfair from me so I sometimes would check if I was talking out of my ass by simply playing the album. "Sanctuary" would start and I was done, now I had to listen to the full thing... and then "The Falling Veil" would start with "Staving Off Truth" following behind. Phew. That's half an hour gone and there you would have me either grinning or doing the best stank face you've never seen every single time.
Before I continue tooting this record's smoky and elongated horn, I realized another way that proves how my horn tootage (?) is scientifically based (on god) and sound. "Compendium", as much as it mauls everything in its path is NOT their best track. Their most iconic sure but from what I've gathered, there are passionate fans for each of their albums, even Omens. And they have arguments, valid arguments to why that is the case, which, let me tell you, is not the case with other... let's call them "one hit" bands, at least the stoner/psychedelic equivalent of that.
Stoned Jesus, a band I've seen the most in my life (four times) has "I'm The Mountain" whose shadow is so large that it's become impossible to escape it. The trio does a fine job of respecting the adoration for that song but still moving on and doing their own thing. They have a new record coming this year by the way. 1000 Mods also shares the same "issue" with "Vidage". They will be playing in Zagreb, a day before Imperial Triumphant whom I'll be seeing. Honestly even with the invitation, I don't feel a particular need to go y'know? Naxatras, another Greek band, is yet another example of having 10+ million views on YouTube from one song from an album that came out either in 2012 or in this (and Elder's) case, 2015.
Weird coincidence but I still can't stop thinking about that invitation. OK I totally can but I gotta have some dramatic tension to keep you floating along, no? Oh and feel free to play "Compendium", this is already so much different than I planned so fuck it, why not.
Anywho the weird thing is how I was invited by someone who's not usually into this kind of music. And no I am not gatekeeping or becoming anger (that was a shitty Oppenheimer reference and I feel no shame) because these bands are not oBsCuRe enough anymore, I'm glad that these bands are getting gigs and exposure.
It's honestly the fact that most of those types of people haven't done the digging and diving which means that a large part of a band's fanbase isn't that active of a listener or not that well versed into the genre. Again completely fine but a bit depressing from the musician side of things... if they care that is which I don't think they do haha.
So... what the fuck am I talking about here? Well during the Elder concert, there were two jackasses who screamed something along the lines of: "Play that Mastodon song!" on a few occasions in between tracks which is beyond rude and the mere though of it pisses me off to this day. But hey, the band played anyway and "Compendium" barged in and those two dipshits lost it, like most of the attendees. A part of my entourage and yours truly however, have been losing it for most of the gig... or it was just me, who cares at this point but yes this was the thing that kickstarted this whole impromptu segment from above. I aim to live off this. Just putting that out there.
Unfortunately, due to that small thing that happened in 2020 I haven't been able to see the boys live again but I am of a firm opinion that "Compendium" still marks the high point for a decent amount of people but after five years, I think Reflections might have even more... let's call us... sorry, them, loyalists. Allow me to attempt and explain why.
So Lore was a big success, to a point most thought it would impossible to top. It still holds up very well, in fact I'm listening to it right now. We're approximately 164 solos deep which means "Spirit At Aphelion" is running around. Gargantuan riff factory, like the remaining four which is great and all but there are moments of static and needless maintaining of the riff quo. And with revisits bloat starts to show, it's nothing game changing but it's there.
What's the solution here? Tighten up the songwriting, maybe shorten the intro or outro, add more singing? LESS RIFF??? Nope, it's just do more and do all that better lmao which is why with even five additional minutes of runtime vs. Lore, Reflections Of A Floating World feels like it's shorter. The approach is mostly the same which is even stranger as longwinded, epic, riffy as fuck and dare I say, jammy-sounding bangers still dominate the landscape. Where Lore faltered a bit was a lack of breathing room. Not stopping before continuing on crushing planets mind you but "real" space.
Like those friendly innkeepers in RPG's, Reflections offer that luxury by implementing more psychedelic, progressive rock and krautrock influences. Think Pink Floyd, think Yes, think King Crimson even. The psychedelic angle was always there but never in this manner. "Staving Off Truth" for example, opens up gently and layers its ideas brilliantly before bursting into crunchy goodness before bringing it back down and allow you to bask in all the glorious layering, crazy textures and intricate musicianship.
Electric pianos, pedal steel guitar, a folk rock section, insane solos, all of it here and decidedly gimmickn't.
Was tempted to say this is the record's most underrated track but then I reached the 7:37 mark on "Blind" where Moog-sounding keyboards attempt to tackle a deceptively simple riff on top of a... I have no idea what time signature, weirdly accentuated 4/4? 7/4? That's the thing, even after five years of almost regular revisits, I still end up hearing new things and still have that awe which marked my initial voyage into the smoky foliage of this absolute gem. That knack for making jagged and complex segments feel fluid and an integral part of a song is something only Elder are capable of at this level.
The god power trio of Nick DiSalvo, Jack Donovan and Matthew Cuoto achieved with everything that has been mentioned but also by being joined by two Michaels, Risberg and Samos on guitars. One is on the pedal steel one I mentioned and the other is on whatever the hell he wants it to be haha.
These two helped in further pushing Reflections above and beyond everything Elder have done to that point which is a high (pun intended) bar to try and cross, let alone succeed. Jesus Christ. "Thousand Hands" is approaching its end, talk about long-winded eh?
While on the topic, what a track (press play this is gonna take a while... just kidding). That crazy guitar interplay with the delayed riff clashing with DiSalvo's pick-heavy one while Cuoto again toys with accentuating beats and Donovan just keeping it tight with his gnarly bass skills, mmm mmm so good!
There are quite literally dozens upon dozens upon dozens of moments such as this and while there are days when I am not completely in a mood to fully enjoy this, I still end up having an amazing time. Drifting off after the 89th insane riff? No problem, when you snap back in you'll hear another sick riff or a rogue texture running besides all the hazy organized chaos and just like that you're back on track. Until the next instance of drifting, it doesn't really matter what avenue you take. Sober (me right now), tired, hyper (me right now), assisted by a certain popular psychoactive substance (me before), assisted by another certain popular and liquid psychoactive substance (surely me before), no matter what Reflections Of A Floating World will always deliver, it always has and always will. In case any of the band members are reading this... smooch I love you.
Oh and as much as I disliked Omens and feel how they're perhaps going in an overly jammy direction, I'm still extremely fucking excited for the next chapter. Until then join me and wishing this smexy masterpiece its fifth anniversary! Tempus fugit indeed.
Reflections Of A Floating World was released via Stickman Records on June 2nd of 2017.
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