It was the Elf- Ancestors (Raging Planet AS/RP337)

So cool to find a great band like this that lives only 30mins away!  I have been friends with Vascko for a while now but due to Covid, we have not managed to meet but the band has sent me their CD now. I did not know it was on the Raging Planet label. They had sent me a batch of CDs a few years ago that I reviewed for the blog. Anyway, Ancestors features 8 tracks in about 50mins. The opening track, Nature´s Son, starts with a very long quiet intro that slowly comes to life with 2 different guitar lines as the drums and bass slowly build. At just about 5mins, the opening jam is done and the real song starts. It is a slow stoney number. The vocals have some effects on it that gives it a special sound. Actually the sound production is quite special in its sound. At 7:30, the pace picks up a bit and the intensity is lifted a notch as the riff is a bit harder and the singing more intense. A bit later there is a nice sort of bluesy guitar solo that really lifts the track.  Black Caravan is next and a bit more doomy but a few minutes in a really cool guitar riff kicks in and then the guitar solos section their is some nice spacey effects added as they space out a bit until the end. Snake Charmer is like a real blues number to start but then it gets more intense with a more heavy riff and vocal intensity.  Nice change of pace.  The Return of the Bear is heads down kick ass stoner rock and a real groover but quite different at the end and sort of drifts into the next track Sea of Fog (a spacey intro to the next track)/Dolmen with its slow spacey start and then a more doomy track starts. The vocal is a bit more spoken at times in this slow grower, that slowly gets more intense and the riff a bit meaner and then it evolves into a stoner rock song, with a nice headbanging groove but they have good dynamics this band and so it slows down and then grows again with some intense guitar lines. Rain is next and starts a bit spaced out with just some guitar sounds and vocals and maybe some field recordings from the mountains??… Cool singing and then the track really takes off with another great stoner rock groove. Sun is the last track... 

The band have really good dynamics and while it is the stoner rock genre, they are really good to mix stuff up and not just belt out the same 3-4min groover each time.. Great record.. 

https://itwastheelf1.bandcamp.com/