For my final review of what has been a phenomenal year for music, I picked the sublime collaboration between two bands: Elder and Kadavar. The pandemic and lockdown brought them to play together and the end result is ELDOVAR: A Story of Darkness & Light. Elder and Kadavar have been around for a while and both bands have a remarkable discography. If you’re not familiar with either of them, you owe it to yourself to spend a few hours on Bandcamp to peruse their body of work. The two bands whose styles merge seamlessly here, give us a blend of heavy psych and prog rock filled with nuances from a plethora of other genres.
It’s undeniable that Pink Floyd has been a major influence on both bands; the Floyd blueprint is all over this record and it’s blissful to the ears. “From Deep Within” puts the listener in a trance; Floydian vibes abound in this opening track. “In the Way” trades Floyd for Led Zep as it echoes something that could have easily been found on Zeppelin III. A folkish tune, it’s one of the absolute highlights of this wonderful album. “El Matador”, which was the album’s first single, and a perfect choice as it truly encapsulates the record’s musical direction and uniqueness. It’s followed by two magnificent instrumentals, the soft “Rebirth of the Twins” and the delightfully Floydian “Raspletin”, a stellar track. Then comes the centerpiece, the epic 11-minute “Blood Moon Night”. Majestic in scope, I do find it a tad self-indulgent in certain spots. Maybe it’s because I’d read that the lads felt it might be the best song either band have ever written, so my expectations were sky-high for that one. Nonetheless, it remains a fantastic, complex song. Things come to a gentle coda with “Cherry Trees”, a song with some great piano and hints of Supertramp.
ELDOVAR is nothing short of astonishing and a clear album of the year candidate. The communion of Elder and Kadavar has birthed an unforgettable album and we can all be thankful that it’s now in the world for us to cherish. Whether you’re a fan of Pink Floyd, either of the two bands responsible for this record, or simply enjoy quality heavy psych and/or prog rock, you’re bound to fall in love with this mind-blowing collection of songs.
Elder’s Bandcamp page: https://beholdtheelder.bandcamp.com/
Kadavar Bandcamp page: https://kadavarberlin.bandcamp.com/
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