True, Elder had the expansive-despite-only-being-two-tracks EP, Liminality / Dream State Return EP (review here), out last year, and it’s coming on four years since 2022’s Innate Passage (review here), which is neither the longest nor the shortest stretch of time ever, but every time they announce a new album, you almost have to inhale and brace yourself for what’s coming. Where will this collection take them? I have no idea. Deeper into mastery, one assumes, but as to the actual shape that will take, there’s only one real way to find out.

They previously announced the tour dates I’ve inserted below, and Through Zero is noteworthy for being their first outing to not be released through Armageddon Shop in the US since Dead Roots Stirring (review here), which came out through MeteorCity, then helmed by Jadd Shickler, who now runs Blues Funeral. Elder have always kept things close to home. Europe, as ever, will be through Stickman Records, and Australia through Bird’s Robe.

The following came from the PR wire:

ELDER Announce New Studio Album “Through Zero”!

Elder have announced their new studio album, Through Zero, set for release on May 29, 2026 via Stickman Records in Europe and Blues Funeral Recordings in the United States. A first single and the album pre-order will go live at the end of March.

Two decades into their existence, Elder remain an anomaly in the heavy underground – a rare band with the ability to absorb and shed influences from a myriad of genres without falling into pastiche or losing their own identity. Through Zero stands as a strong reaffirmation of their commitment to pushing boundaries in the world of heavy rock and cements the group’s status as leaders of the pack in heavy psychedelic rock.

Over the past twenty years, Elder have mastered crushing riffs, melodic jaunts, progressive patterns, hypnotic grooves and ethereal atmosphere. On Through Zero, the band channel these years of experience into what may be their most immediate and engaging record to date, while allowing seeds from outside the sphere of rock music to take root and bloom within their progressive framework. Listeners will find familiar elements of new textures, sequences, and sounds alongside Elder’s iconic take on heavy rock. As always, every spin reveals new details.

Recorded at Big Snuff Studios in Berlin across several months between tours in 2025, Through Zero marks the first album the band not only produced themselves, but also co-mixed together with longtime collaborator Richard Behrens. Mastered by Carl Saff, the result is a record that feels more like a full extension of the band’s creative intentions than ever before.

Through Zero Track listing:
1. Sigil To Ruin
2. Capture/Release
3. Through Zero
4. Strata
5. Sight Unseen
6. Blighted Age

Guitarist and singer Nick DiSalvo reveals: “Through Zero” is a term borrowed from engineering and the world of music. It describes the property of a frequency being able to pass through the zero point and continue into the negative. While it isn’t a concept rooted in philosophy, it resonates with me on a conceptual level: the zero point is not an end, but a midpoint along a partially unseen path. Interpretation is open: the journey is the destination, beginnings and endings may be arbitrary, or perhaps reality is simply less linear than we tend to assume.

The songs on the album explore related themes that reflect my own observations and personal philosophy. Life and death, frustration and fear, helplessness and hope – all of these exist along the same “signal path.”

Summer 2026 European Shows
13.06. – GB – Derby, Download Festival
14.06. – GB – Colchester, Colchester Arts Centre w/ Blood Incantation
15.06. – GB – Southampton, The 1865 w/ Blood Incantation
16.06. – GB – Brighton, Concorde 2 w/ Blood Incantation
18.06. – FR – Clisson, Hellfest
19.06. – BE – Dessel, Graspop Metal Meeting
20.06. – DE – Dortmund, Junkyard Open Air w/ Kadavar
23.06. – CH – Winterthur, Gaswerk
26.06. – NO – Oslo, Tons of Rock
27.06. – DE – Thyrnau, Blackdoor Festival
01.07. – GR – Thessaloniki, Eightball Club
02.07. – GR – Athens, Arch Club
07.07. – HR – Slunj, Bearstone Festival
10.07. – PL – Pleszew, Red Smoke Festival
23.07. – DE – Reutlingen, Hafensounds Festival w/ Kadavar
25.07. – SI – Tolmin, Tolminator Festival
26.07. – IT – Milan, Circolo Magnolia Summer
28.07. – RO – Brașov, Rockstadt Extreme Fest
30.07. – DE – Breitenbach am Herzberg, Burg Herzberg Festival
31.07. – DE – Michelau, Rock Im Wald
04.08. – DE – Rostock, MAU Club
05.08. – CZ – Josefov-Jaroměř, Brutal Assault Festival
09.08. – PT – Âncora, Sonic Blast Festival
14.08. – CH – Valais, PALP Festival

Elder is:
Nick DiSalvo – Guitars, Vocals
Mike Risberg – Guitars, Keys
Jack Donovan – Bass
Georg Edert – Drums

https://beholdtheelder.com/
https://linktr.ee/elderband
https://beholdtheelder.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/elderband/
http://facebook.com/elderofficial

http://www.stickman-records.com/
http://stickmanrecords.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/Stickman-Records-1522369868033940/

https://www.birdsrobe.com/
https://www.instagram.com/birdsrobe/
https://www.facebook.com/birdsrobe/

Elder, Liminality / Dream State Return (2025)

So much the better if it gives the album another look. Melbourne’s Treebeard issued their debut full-length, Nostalgia (review here), during the covid-lockdown days of 2021, and having now signed to Bird’s Robe Records, will offer it again with the label’s backing. The record was comprised of tracks re-recorded and in part rearranged from their first two EPs, so as that makes some of its material upwards of half a decade old, it’s not a surprise to hear them discussing moving forward with new material as well. They call it “very much on the way,” but leave further specifics to guesses at this point.

Fair enough. They list some of the artists who release/have released through Bird’s Robe — We Lost the Sea, Sleepmakeswaves, etc. — and being in a heavy post-rock vein, they’re a solid fit among on a roster that’s obviously curated with care and a precise idea of what it’s looking for. If you didn’t catch Nostalgia, it’s of course streaming below. If you did catch it, well, maybe catch it again, I don’t know. Or maybe just drop the band a comment and say congrats. They seem pretty stoked on it, and reasonably so.

Their announcement follows:

Treebeard joins Bird’s Robe

We are thrilled to announce that Treebeard is now joining Sydney-based record label and promoter Bird’s Robe!

We are so excited and humbled to be on a roster featuring many of Australia’s finest post / prog artists, including many of our peers as well as some of our biggest influences such as We Lost The Sea, Sleepmakeswaves, Solkyri, Mushroom Giant and many more!

We have always considered Bird’s Robe and Mike Solo to be at the forefront of our scene and are so thankful for his endorsement of our band. We appreciate his support of our music both old and new which, yes, is very much on the way.

With our debut album ‘Nostalgia’ having come out during lockdown, it was always felt that its potential was never fully realised post release. Mike after hearing the album agreed, and therefore we are also happy to announce we are rereleasing ‘Nostalgia’, with more details to come soon.

Many thanks to Bird’s Robe for welcoming us, and to all our supporters for getting us to this point!

We’re only just getting started…

Treebeard is:
Guitar & Vocals – Patrick Cooke
Bass – Rhys Brennan
Drums – Beau Heffernan
Guitar & Vocals – Josh Bills

https://www.facebook.com/treebeard.band.aus/
https://treebeard2.bandcamp.com/

Treebeard, Nostalgia (2021)