Elderstag

Artist: Elderstag

Genre: Metal

Record Label: Independent

Release Date: 13 January 2025

Elderstag is a four-piece band from Lisbon, formed in 2024: Tiago Oliveira on vocals and bass, João Pedro Carmo and Gonçalo Assunção on guitars, and Diogo Belo on drums.
They released their self-titled debut album on January 13, 2025, and even though it's seven months later, it's worth talking about this Lisbon quartet's work, which is already one of this year's highlights.

For those who know Portuguese underground music, this union of members was already mouth-watering. Present in bands such as The Chapter, Fonte, Diabolical Mental State and Voidust, they have cooked up an album with 9 tracks and 43 minutes of a dish for fans of Heavy Metal, Stoner, Progressive, who will be delighted with this fusion of "flavors". Yes, we've just made a gastronomic analogy in a review of a music album, but when it comes to new experiences, whether in a restaurant, on a trip or at a concert, the words are always the same.

So let's talk about this experience. Speaking for myself, I listened to the 9 chapters of this story in 3 different scenarios, which allowed me to make a better assessment of this album. In all 3 scenarios, I came to the same conclusion: this is an album that manages to transform intensity and melody into calm in a few seconds, and everything sounds as natural as it does spectacularly well.
It clearly shows influences from heavy metal, progressive, stoner and even hardcore bands. If I had to name bands, I'd clearly say Baroness, Mastodon, Crowbar and we'd venture to say Metallica, Megadeth and Opeth.

Tiago Oliveira, at many moments, reminded me of a mixture of James Hetfield and Mike Akerfeldt, in the way he sings, the very well used gutturals and a bass that is also very audible. João Pedro and Gonçalo's guitars are fabulous and super harmonious, with very impactful riffs and very good solos. I loved the final solo of the song "The Grand Transformation", complemented in every way by Diogo Belo's masterful drumming, as we've come to expect from Fonte.

Elderstag's self-titled album is, as we mentioned earlier, a 9-chapter story that tells the dystopian story of human transformation into animals. It's certainly the first book of many more to come. This is one of the best bands of its kind in the Portuguese Underground, and anyone who is a fan of genres such as Progressive Metal, Heavy Metal, Stoner, will certainly be very satisfied after listening to this record.

For us, the standout songs are Dehumanized (my personal favourite), King of Yourself, The Grand Transformation (the first single, which has a video clip on Elderstag's official Youtube page) and The Shepherd. However, the album is extremely consistent and maintains the same atmosphere from start to finish. For those who haven't had the chance to see this Portuguese band, I recommend
follow us on social media and keep an eye out for upcoming concerts, which you certainly won't want to miss.