Mixing in a variety of music to come up with their powerful blend of hard rock and psychedelic dreams, Elder takes things to extremes. The bass lines are heavy and powerful, while the drums play with an intense, neck-breaking force. The guitars scream through the music, and make the music a bold force. But they can also slow things down and do a soft rock number, soft to what they are used too. So what is wrong with them you ask? The vocals. The vocals are horrible. They are either too light for the music, or they are too deep and scream-filled for the music. They also distort the vocals too much, taking away any credibility they might have had.

The music wasn't bad. I actually found it well composed, but the vocals destroyed everything. Anything the music set up the vocals tore down. I tried to get into the vocals, but I just couldn't. I found them terribly unappealing. I'll give the CD a C-. The music (minus the vocals) wasn't bad, and the actual CD was the prettiest CD I have ever seen. A great design. All black, with the name of the band in black.

El Jefe: El Jefe's Amorphous Phormula

Eldritch: Portrait of the Abyss Within

[Issue Six // March 1998]