Fister ‘Decade of Depression’
Album Review By Adam McCann
Listenable Records/Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal
Who could believe that it has been nearly ten years since Fister bludgeoned their way onto the heavy metal scene; playing a herbal blend of doom, sludge and stoner, the Missouri band have developed a respectable following through four warmly received albums by both fans and critics alike. To celebrate their first ten years as a band, Fister have released ‘Decade of Depression’, a celebratory album that delves into the past, with the Americans paying homage to those bands who inspired them.
Unlike a lot of albums of this nature, artists who basically give as near as damnit copy of the original, with ‘Decade…’, Fister manage to deliver all these tracks through their grinding, mammoth style of doom. This means that tracks such as Metallica’s ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’ and Slayer’s ‘Mandatory Suicide’ are given largely different leases of life; for example, these tracks are slowed down, placing even more emphasis on these already powerful riffs, the former of which takes on a new meaning becoming more a funerary dirge of one marching out to certain death. However, covers of Darkthrone’s ‘Too Old Too Cold’ and ‘Reaper’ by Hellhammer are a little more disjointed and fade out into a little less memorable than their more famous forerunners.
This means that with ‘Decade…’, Fister have delivered an album that is enjoyable and although not all of it is memorable, it doesn’t make the listener reach for the skip button. For the band, ‘Decade…’ is a great album to celebrate their tenth anniversary; yes, its not an album of Fister songs, barring the re-recording of ‘The Failure’, and it will never be a ‘go-to’ Fister album, but that does not make it any less enjoyable, yet ultimately, this is an album for hardcore Fister fans only.
Rating : 65/100
MHF Magazine/Adam McCann
