Album Review: Lord Elephant - Ultra Soul (2026, Heavy Psych Sounds)

Written: 27th January 2026

Since their formation in 2016, Italy’s Lord Elephant have been quietly distilling their own potent sonic elixir. Their 2022 debut, Cosmic Awakening, was a thunderous cocktail of psychedelia, stoner, doom and blues that hit the scene with critical acclaim. Many tours have followed, with Lord Elephant sharing stages with the likes of Eyehategod, Church of Misery, Nebula and Bongzilla. Now, with Ultra Soul, for which the trio team up with producer Riccardo “Paso” Pasini in Ravenna, they are set to return with an album that explores heavier and more expansive territory.

First track Electric Dunes builds steadily across its three and a half minutes with monolithic intent. Layers of well considered distortion and reverb both place individual foundations in the track’s construction, while cymbal crashes add colour and texture to the intoxicating atmosphere. Like many instrumental albums, Ultra Soul allows listeners to paint their own narratives and lose themselves in the album’s labyrinthine corridors. Gigantia offers something different to Electric Dunes with an altogether higher tempo and colossal riffs that collide with the throbbing, verdant bass line. It is easy to imagine standing high atop a deep canyon, look across miles of empty space as the weather closes in. That is not to say that Lord Elephant rely on one idea throughout each song; a quieter section of Gigantia warns of something ominous approaching and Lord Elephant are quite prepared to have moments of almost total silence before the track crescendos once more and build towards a monumental conclusion. As the album unfolds, Lord Elephant blend genres and moods with a deft touch. Sludge, prog, stoner, shoegaze, post-rock, doom and even hints of drone are woven into the fabric of the record in ways that, for the most part, feel natural and unforced.

Third track Smoke Tower has a slow-burning haunting introduction that touches on heavier post-rock. There is a cinematic quality to some of their tracks that conjure images of lost highways and desolate settlements. They develop the feeling that each track is a scene in a film that exists only in the listener’s mind – a film scored by thunder, static or the distant howl of a wolf. Black River Blues creates an eerily uneasy atmosphere as restless bass, crashing percussion and a lengthy repeating guitar motif combine - sometimes seemingly in competition; sometimes heading in the same direction. It is an interesting tactic that means the listener’s ability to comprehend everything happening in the music is challenged in different ways.

Ultra Soul concludes with a trio of eight-minute-plus tracks that allow the band time to really delve deeply into their more experimental side. Astral moves through a range of auras - some deep and demanding; some ethereal and ambient. On occasion, during Astral, it feels as if Lord Elephant have stitched together a variety of ideas that do not always seem fully cohesive. However, this approach shows they have not imposed any boundaries on what can be included in their music. For some, these unexpected detours will be a welcome highlight; though others - including myself – might find Astral just a touch too rambling in its direction.

Penultimate track MindNight – a contender for the best entry on Ultra Soul - evolves more naturally than Astral and here, the album’s production values pay dividends. Both cavernous and tactile, every is note suspended in a haze of reverb and overdrive yet is always anchored by the band’s unerring sense of groove. There are moments of pure, unfiltered heaviness but also passages of unnerving stillness where the music seems to hover on the edge of silence, waiting to pounce. Completing an excellent one-two of tracks and concluding the album, Leave is a wonderful indication of Lord Elephant’s step up in quality of detail and execution from their debut album. It is an exercise in self-restraint, allowing each section the time in needs to develop and like MindNight, the song’s transitions glide with an easy, instinctive grace.

While certain songs resonate more strongly than others, what sets Ultra Soul apart is its sense of immersion. Listening to the album feels like wandering through a landscape sculpted from sound - sometimes blasted and barren, sometimes lush and teeming with strange life. Ultra Soul is not an album meant to be simply played; its aim is to envelop and saturate. From the opening notes, Lord Elephant sound as if they are performing somewhere where the air is thick with incense and amplifier dust. Guitars coil and uncoil in serpentine fashion, basslines rumble and drums pulse steadily with hypnotic inevitability. This is a collection that invites listeners to revisit and discover new layers with each encounter. Marking a clear step forward for the band, the release offers a journey that rewards curiosity and repeated attention.

Ultra Soul is released on 30th January 2026

Lord Elephant lineup

Leandro Gaccione – Guitar

Edoardo De Nardi – Bass

Tommaso Urzino – Drums

Lord Elephant links

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