Single Slam – Cornered at the Earth by Eshtadur (Mother Gray)

Cornered at the Earth is the new single from Colombian melodic death metal band Eshtadur. It is taken from their latest album, Mother Gray. Mother Gray is due to be released on the 12th of May through Bleeding Music Records. Eshtadur have been around for over a decade and have released 5 pieces of music so far. Starting with a demo, they then followed that up with 2 full length albums, an EP and most recently, the single Son of a Witch. Eshtadur have been working hard to make a name for themselves and have done reasonably well. They released a popular tribute song called Burning Heart in 2014. It also featured Bjorn Strid (Soilwork) Per Nilsson (Scar Symmetry) and Allan Marcus (Arecibo). You can check that out here.

Eshtadur have also toured as support for Graveworm, Vader and Cradle of Filth. They even won the AMS award for best album with their 2013 release Stay Away from Evil and Get Close To Me.

The new track, Cornered at the Earth, and the band as a whole, are proud of their influences and champion them wholeheartedly. They are happy to state they are influenced by At The Gates, Soilwork, Graveworm, Arch Enemy and Ihsahn and you can hear those influences clearly within Eshtadur’s music.

Cornered at the Earth is an energetic and viciously heavy song. It is just over 5 minutes long. It doesn’t mess about either starting straight off with blistering drums from Mauro Marin. There are some effects added as the song builds along with a crunching riff from the guitars of Juan Ortiz and Sebas Patino and bass from Victor Valencia. As the verse kicks in, so do the vocals. They are deep, dark and brutal. Very much on the death metal side of things. The prechorus adds in some other tones of vocals giving a layered effect. The chorus is a little different, adding the melodic element in the form of a groove guitar line over death metal vocals. The chorus is great – really infectious and the vocals throughout from Jorg August are really strong and heavy.

Other than the slightly slower, rhythmic choruses, the whole song runs along at a ferocious pace and the drumming is excellent. There are little orchestral elements and a few effects used. They are kept to a minimum though so really only add depth without taking over. Cornered at the Earth ends to a furious blast of drums and guitars over meaty roars and growls. It then slows down to fade out.

Cornered at the Earth is a great metal track. This is definitely the heaviest side of melodic death metal. There is plenty of melody, yes, but the lasting memory here is death metal. There are elements of the greats within such as At The Gates but while I hear the influences, Eshtadur definitely have their own thing going on. The song is an adrenaline fuelled beast of a track. It is well produced, the drumming and vocals are fantastic and the other instruments aren’t far behind. These are well worth checking out.

Eshtadur released the following statement to coincide with the release of the new single.

“Cornered at the Earth” is the very first song composed in this “Mother Gray” new album, desperate, fast and rough are the primary settings that I used. At first, the music born from the guitars with an introduction and a melodic slow chorus, I always prefer to play simple notes, but accurate ones, what makes me enjoy more the music, my favorite parts are the orchestral section, my density is in there, my anger and my beliefs”.

” The incredible design by Carlos Jacome was a wonderful idea from my partner Jessica, we were discussing about the meaning of the theme, what really means to be cornered in any circumstance, to be condemned, to remain in this world with no option, is the introduction to the whole album idea, how nature is devastated by the hands of man, and how death, the greatest mother gray, our own world makes an effort to survive and we are a completely hell, a place impossible to inhabit that we created, cornered and blinded in our ignorance. This first single is the first feeling that you have when you are in pain, when you are in trouble, desperation, agony, that is our earth griping”.

This is a really good song and, being a big fan of melodic death metal myself, it has really got me excited for Mother Gray. These guys are a talented bunch. It is also great to see melodic death metal inspiring bands from as far away from Scandinavia as Colombia. This track is heavy enough that it should be well received in death metal circles too. Ultimately it is a very good metal song, whatever genre you claim to prefer.

Check it out for yourself here. You won’t be disappointed. If you like what you hear, you can preorder Mother Gray from Bleeding Music Records. Check them out on Facebook for more information on them and their music. You can also find them on Bandcamp where you can check out, and buy, some of there other releases.