Eshtadur - Stay Away From Evil And Get Close To Me

It's amazing to see where the blackened end of the metal genre has infiltrated around the globe. It's very prevalent within the UK, Europe and the US, but even more so now in Asia and South America. Eshtadur are one such band treading the left-hand path and playing experimental black metal in Colombia. Eshtadur have been going, in various forms since 2005 and with two demo's and one full length to their name so far, they are about to release a second titled "Stay Away From Evil And Stay Close To Me" via Gate of Horror Productions in June.

Tracklist:-

1. Beyond The Shadows
2. Stay Away From Evil And Get Close To Me
3. Another Alien Messiah
4. Abigor
5. Nightmare In A Church
6. Son Of A Witch
7. Take Me To The Morgue
8. The Girl Who Hated A Priest

9. Mas Alla De Las Sombras (Spanish Version of Beyond The Shadows)

Eshtadur make a very assured start with Beyond The Shadows. Their musicianship is damn fast, the guitars air on the side of thrash and the drums pound away with plenty of double bass in the background. The keyboards add a sinister edge. The melodic leads that Eshtadur possess are as good as anything their North American cousins can play and the vocals are an amalgamation of both black and death metal. It seems as though Eshtadur speed up at the start of the title track. You'll hear a lot of modern touches within their music, which is no bad thing and thanks to a decent production, the songs are really enjoyable and not ruined by the muddiness that sometimes affects these types of albums. The keys during the song a very grand and give the music a classical edge.

They inject dual high/low vocals into the chorus if Another Alien Messiah. They also hit a more proggy stride with a spellbinding solo during the mid-section of the song. One great thing about Eshtadur is that they play very concise songs, instead of making them too lengthy. It's much better to make an impact with this for of metal than overstay your welcome and be forgotten and thankfully, Eshtadur stay on the right side. Abigor and Nightmare In A Church flash past in a flurry of thrashing guitar and drums, before flailing straight into the amusingly titled Son Of A Witch. This song again underlines Eshtadur's modern sensibilities, thanks to a great song structure. Take Me To The Morgue throws in some folk-inspired guitar alongside more rousing keys. One thing you can definitely say about Eshtadur is that they're very listenable.

The Girl Who Hated A Priest is the penultimate song and sounds more like a rock opera, such are its twists and turns. The dramatic guitar leads and keyboard melodies only add to that feeling too. The album's closing track is a Spanish version of the opener Beyond The Shadows. Mas Alla De Las Sombras heralds Eshtadur's Colombian roots and actually has a more sinister poignancy thanks to the Spanish lyrics. It's an interesting way to round of a very impressive album that will certainly put both Eshtadur and Colombian metal on the map.

To get you in the mood for the release of this record, I'm very proud to be streaming the opening track Beyond The Shadows, on my newly launched Bandcamp page. This song was provided with permission from the band directly and will only be up for a limited time. Make sure you check it out:-

For more information on the release of this record and how to purchase it, head to Gate Of Horror Productions on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/GATE-OF-HORROR-PRODS.

Eshtadur can be found on Facebook too at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eshtadur/.