Through Zero

Elder — 2026

“Elder continue building sonic worlds few bands can match, where prog, metal, and space rock collide.”

Despite Elder’s twenty year history, the band really hadn’t landed on my radar until 2020’s Omens. My third favorite album that year, an album that I called a more rock forward venture in the vein of Led Zeppelin, Rush, and Yes. Elder’s follow up, 2022’s Innate Passage, also left an impression-my #14 album of that year. The album created a hypnotic, cosmic atmosphere that continued the band’s tradition of musicianship and world-building. Now, 4 years in the making, the leviathan reemerges to deliver another dose of other-worldly, crashing doom and heavy rock.

Through Zero is the band’s next journey into the great beyond that shows why they’re a continued favorite of fans of the space rock, psych metal, and stoner metal genres. Elder create a world of “shamanic bro prog” -I’m not saying that to be reductive either- that feels as if the entire album is being proclaimed from Olympus Mons. Through Zero, after a few listens, is a continuous reminder of why fans hold this band in such high regard.

“Capture / Release,” the band’s second single from the album, uses laser targeted keys and rotating, red sun riffs to construct their sonic cathedral. The big standout is the title track that starts off with a playful Deftones riff that then chugs into something off Mastodon’s opener off Crack the Skye. The track then later finds a beautiful nebula that glistens in contrast to the deep black of space. “Sight Unseen” is a balance of calm blown wide open with blasts of intensity to end it.

Elder has always been a band to draw from all eras of music. The influences of Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Rush, and Yes are still woven throughout the band’s sound. The modern sounds pull from artists such as Tool, SLIFT, Mastodon, Cloakroom, Cave-In, King Buffalo, and Somali Yacht Club.

Through Zero is an interesting album. Like I said in the beginning, this is an album that takes dedication with multiple listens. With Elder’s behemoth soundscapes the band has crafted an album that will easily satisfy fans. If you’re new to the band then start with Reflections of a Floating World, Omens, or Innate Passage. If you crave more, then Through Zero will continue to satisfy that appetite for cosmic splendor.