At the end of 2024, Elder looked back on an unusual period in their now near 20-year career. A few years ago, the band had released their most progressive record yet, 2022's highly acclaimed Innate Passage, followed by the usual heavy touring schedule, including a 24-show arena tour supporting Tool. The band then took a year-long sabbatical to recharge their creative batteries, which, instead of rest, culminated in the release of multiple albums by side projects. Convening in the winter of that year for a two-week songwriting session at Big Snuff Studio in Berlin, the band set a goal of knocking off the rust and putting together ideas for the next record. While combing through an archive of old sketches, they hit upon an outline of a song from somewhere between 2020's Omens and its successor Innate Passage, abandoned then for reasons now inscrutable. Picking up the pieces with fresh ears, Elder fleshed out a new version of the track, which is firmly rooted between those two albums but with an identity of its own. Building on the song's ending, a swirling tower of synthesizers, chugging guitars, and almost tribal drumming was constructed during lengthy in-studio jams. Liminality/Dream State Return can be seen as a bridge between eras in Elder's creative universe: one foot is planted in the highly melodic and sometimes alternative/grunge-tinged riffing of Omens, the other in Innate Passage's dreamy prog soundscapes, with its head in the clouds looking toward Elder's upcoming LP 7. Vinyl comes as a one-sided, 180 g translucent LP with etching on the B side, including a download.
