An interview with: ELDER (Nick DiSalvo)

ASTRAL speak with Nick DiSalvo of Heavy Progressive Psychedelic Rock group, ELDER.

Since their self-titled debut Elder (2008), Elder have embarked on a relentless path of reinvention and evolution within the pysch rock space. With each subsequent release: Dead Roots Stirring (2011), Lore (2015), Reflections of a Floating World (2017), The Gold & Silver Sessions (2019), Omens (2020), Innate Passage (2022), and the collaborative Elder / Kadavar: Eldovar – A Story of Darkness & Light (2021), Elder have deepened their scope, pushing further into progressive territory without losing their heavy essence.

Following a landmark tour in 2024 supporting none other than the legendary TOOL, Elder singer, guitarist and songwriter Nick DiSalvo reflects on the band’s journey, their origins, and what inspires their mind blowing music.

We were stoked to speak with Nick to explore how a band once rooted in stoner doom became one of the most vital voices in modern heavy rock music, soon to headline London's DESERTFEST festival as part of a European tour embarking on May 2025.

To discover more and buy live tickets you can follow Elder on their:

• Website: beholdtheelder.com

• Instagram: @elderband

Read on below for our full interview with Elder's Nick DiSalvo...

How are you feeling so far in 2025 in preparation for your new European tour and the album that's in the works? 

I’m very ready to get back on the road again. We’ve been touring heavily in the past years, and the past 12 months were a notable exception for the band that we only played 2 shows, so I’m definitely chomping at the bit to be out there performing again. In certain ways, being on tour is extremely mentally and physically taxing, but in other ways it’s a total respite from the pressures and worries of everyday life. It’s nice to focus on music and the task at hand, shut out the news and noise of the world and just enter your own bubble. The new album we’re working on has been developing in spurts and playing live and then returning to write is a great way to clear the head and get new input. 

Mythological and mystical themes weave through Elder's catalogue, where does that interest stem from and what do you think the name Elder represents to you? 

My earliest fascinations with the mystical/mythological stemmed from a childlike fascination with the symbology behind certain music, in my case specifically heavy and extreme metal. As a teenager, there’s something captivating about these mysterious and powerful symbols like the pentagram, Nordic runes and what have you. I think for me, that got me interested in ancient and pre-christian cultures and value systems and gave me insight into the world we live in today. And of course the whole idea of expanding your mind with or without drugs is part and parcel of the psychedelic rock scene. I came up with the name for the band when I was in a period where I was for some reason very interested in Genghis Khan and the Mongol empire. I was reading a biography about him and there were often references to tribal elders, referencing their wisdom and whatnot. The name stuck with me. The first Elder recordings tell the story of the Mongol empire, actually.  

Who were some inspirations to you musically and conceptually in the origins of your creative journey, inside or outside of music?

When we started the band in 2006 or 2007, we were just kids who wanted to imitate the bands we liked. However, by the 2nd album (Dead Roots Stirring from 2010), much of what we listened to in the stoner/doom scene felt stale and derivative and I was beginning to formulate my own musical ideas and identity. We spent a long time trying to be as “heavy” as possible, which at that time we felt only possible by being loud, downtuned and distorted. It took me some time to realize that some of the heaviest music had nothing to do with volume or downtuning but came from the soul of the music. I guess that was my biggest insight leading to the development of the band, which made us dig deeper into different sounds and feelings. Traveling has also always been a big part of the personal journey for me. I started moving around and living abroad from 2007 through 2014 and those experiences of taking yourself out of your comfort zone and starting over has been really instrumental in the way I think about crafting a musical identity for my and the bands’ works as well.

Has that passion for songwriting always been there from a young age or has it been something you've grown into over the years?

I’ve always liked writing songs and have done so since I first got involved with music around the age of 10-11. At first this was mostly a fascination with creating the material artifacts - I really wanted to make my own albums. I recorded quite a few tunes with my childhood “bands” and would spend hours designing tapes and trying to sell them to friends at school. Over time as my ambitions got a little more serious along with my musical skills, it became a game of continually upping the ante and trying to make more and more impressive compositions. 

What keeps that fire burning inside of you and motivates you the most to do what you do?

I quite simply get the most pleasure out of making music, more than anything else in life… I’m sure there is some element of wanting to build a legacy as a musician, leave behind some creative work that shows I existed when I’m gone, but at the most basic level playing music is very rewarding. 

Psych infused music genres have often been associated with expanded states of mind. Have any particular experiences, psychedelic or otherwise, influenced your creative process? 

Perhaps counter-intuitively, psychedelics have never directly influenced my creative process - at least as far as I know. I’ve only used true psychedelic drugs a handful of times and while always providing an enlightening or at least highly amusing experience, they haven’t led to me picking up an instrument and creating anything worthwhile. I’m certainly not against experimenting more. I’ve definitely experienced personal musical epiphanies from breaking down boundaries in my own mind, but it’s difficult to describe what conditions lead to that. Usually it’s a directed and consistent effort to erode whatever barriers exist between intention and expression, be it writers block while working on a song or just finally making the leap to include new sounds in our music. 

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You can listen to more Elder on Apple Music & Spotify.

- ASTRAL Magazine