Ishtar – From The Gates (2013)

Delivering a very unique EP, today we have Ishtar and their debut release “From The Gates”. Hailing from France, this six-piece band merges Black/Death Metal with a hefty dosage of atmospheric elements and passages to create a very unique sounding release. With the French Metal scene gaining more and more exposure over the years, Ishtar is one of those bands that deserve to be talked about.

After the typical intro track, “Invading Empire” delivers a very unique mixture of Black and Death Metal elements, similar to bands like Kataklysm and older acts like Your Shapeless Beauty (minus the Avant-garde elements). In this track, the band explodes into a very melodic section (around the middle of the song) that has a nice experimental vibe to it and explored their atmospheric power.

The band’s aural explorations continue with the crushing “From The Fates”, a very contrasting song that features excellent growls and dramatic keyboards. This reminded us more of bands like Garden of Shadows (USA) and their perfectly balanced contrast between brutality and melody. The band’s riffing is quite intense and it is shown in the pummeling “Beneath The Stench of Desolation”. Also, the drumming is quite well crafted and highly precise throughout this release.

Our favorite track in this release is the experimental “Warpath”, a song that combines all the band’s elements into one rollercoaster ride. Closing the release strong with the engaging “The Surrender”, Ishtar has managed to deliver on excellent release filled with experimentation that comes nicely together with a very cohesive sound. Reminding us of the experimental Black/Death bands from the late 90’s like Bloodthron, Garden of Shadows, etc., “From The Gates” is one excellent debut EP that should be on your collection ASAP.

Label: Self-Released

Release: July 20th, 2013

Genre: Black/Death Metal

Country: France