Album Review: Eshtadur – In Darkness All Shadows Gone

Album Review: Eshtadur – In Darkness All Shadows Gone

Reviewed by Oli Gonzalez

The world of metal brings you to some interesting places. When you think of extreme metal, the normal hotbeds of the USA, Germany, Sweden, the UK and Norway come to mind. Though today, we’re taking a journey – in our minds – to the darkest depths of Columbia, the South American nation which Eshtadur calls home! Having built an impressive resume of supporting the likes of Behemoth, Vader, and Deicide, as well as having boarded the boat for 70000 Tons Of Metal, this list isn’t to be overlooked. So, what can we expect from their latest opus “In Darkness All Shadows Gone”?

We’re greeted with a rather cinematic opening, resembling the background music to a horror movie, when the protagonists have ventured into an abandoned tomb or somewhere they really shouldn’t be! Such is the austere intimidating atmosphere of the music! Just a haunting classical guitar and terrifying ominous chants; enough to make a grown man cower. Then, we’re into the nuts and bolts of the album!

‘Into The Woods’ introduces us to the melodic death metal spine of their sound, especially with those warm overdriven guitar tones and overall pace providing a likening to At The Gates. Whereas the symphonic edge is subtle, it dominates the mix in ‘Umbra’, making the band’s comparisons to Septic Flesh and Old Man’s Child seemingly more accurate. Though one thing is clear; Eshtadur simply don’t have the production resources those titans have. As a result, the mix feels a bit rough and lacking the killer sharpened edge.

Perhaps getting the symphonic orchestral edge isn’t the band’s forte. Instead, the band excels with their capacity to shred! Much like their South American counterparts Krisiun, Eshtadur feel at their strongest when they revert to the tried and tested formula of solid riffs played with plenty of attitude and a mastery of the guitar tones. The blazing lead solo in ‘Fire Above Mountain Below’ sums this up.

The band lean more into a black metal theme with ‘Old Shaman Blind’, especially in the opening, when the drums, bass and vocals seemingly disappear to give the axe all the room it needs to fully shine! Before reverting back into the Gothenburg style guitar riff factory here and in ‘Thunderground’.

As the album progresses, you want to find reasons to like the band and get behind them. Sadly though, the production values begin to really let the band down and really are not getting the best out of this talented bunch of individuals. They have a supremely talented drummer in Juan Lopez, but it feels like his skills get lost in the mix and which you seldom see cutting through. When it’s time for ‘A Black Wing Waltz’, a 9 minute song at this stage feels like a huge commitment. This and the final 3 songs aren’t really offering what we haven’t heard before in this album either.

A brave effort from a talented group, but Eshtadur may benefit from throwing all their eggs in one basket on the next album and producing maybe 6-7 high quality songs with sharp production values rather than stretching themselves too thin creatively across 12.

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