By: Ernesto
Aguilar
Album Type: Split
Date
Released:
29/12/2017
Label: PATAC Records
“Come to
Grief | Fistula” & “Fistula | -(16)-“ Split 7”//CS//DD track listing
1).
Come to
Grief – “Take Me In My Sleep”
2).
Fistula
– “Confusion”
1).
Fistula
– “Mongoloid” (Devo)
2).
-(16)-
“Complications” (Killing Joke)
The Review:
In
a year of conflict and uncertainty, one thing came out clear as anything:
legendary Ohio
sludge crew Fistula
did not piss away the end of 2017 binge watching garbage on Netflix. Nope. In
fact, the band dove headfirst into creating new music. It is featured as part
of a new seven-inch series, where the band is paired up with other veteran acts
– Maine four-piece Come to Grief and Los Angeles long-timers -(16)-
for sonic adventures aplenty.
The
pair of singles begins with Come to Grief's entry, a dense and dangerous
cut built around Jonathan Hébert's searing vocals and the brawny guitar of
Terry Savastano. "Take Me In My
Sleep" is deceptively powerful. From the slow climb of its opening, Come to Grief maintains a thick and
ominous rhythm throughout this song. As fans may recall, the quartet arose from
the ashes of the 1990s group Grief, reconstituting to some range the songs
for that group written by Savastano, and which include former Grief
drummer Chuck Conlon. However, it was evident even early on that the new
incarnation is not a tribute band, but an altogether intriguing evolution of
the progenitor's classic sound. Much credit for this growth is to some degree
owed to the presence of Hébert behind the microphone. His voice demands your
attention and obedience, with a wiry snarl and dexterous attack. With a
foundation ballasted by Conlon and bassist Tim Simpson, "Take Me In My Sleep" is a lethal selection for this
seven-inch.
Speaking
of veteran experience, -(16)- makes their presence felt on the second
seven-inch, employing its renowned sludge prowess with slicing riffs, grave
soil dark bass and vocals that rattle you like kicking a pile of spent bullet
shells across a concrete floor. In the hands of -(16)-, a song by iconic
post-punk clan Killing
Joke is not just a particularly savage cover, but a fearless
reimagining of some of the English band's best work. The showcase player here
is Bobby Ferry, whose guitar plows through this originally brisk paced song
with a hint of speed yet still faithful to what -(16)- does best. Similarly Cris
Jerue's singing takes a page from Jaz Coleman, yet blows open the doors to put
his band's stamp on this rendition. With Barney Firks on bass and Dion Thurman at
the drum kit, -(16)-
shows new and stalwart fans just how effectively the group is able to
rejuvenate this material.
These
tracks – and the sheer quality of the performers – taken in, it is evident that
Fistula
has quite a high bar to meet on what is a marquee placement for the band.
If
you are familiar with the Devo song Fistula covers on that split with -(16)-,
the 1994 track is one of those sublime post-rock/electronic hybrids that made
the band innovators so visionary, as well as one of the best known Rock &
Roll Hall of Fame snubs. It is a bold choice; its early-math rock guitar and
slinky synths could be hard to pull off for a band loved for its sludge. Where
it works best is when Fistula are faithful to the original, with
just that hint of vacant eyed stare that made them such a musical terror. With
a similarly terse beginning, it's into a straight-ahead mashing of guitars and
boiling-over vocals. Fistula are wildly accurate with their strikes
– a driving rhythm section is met at flourishes by effects, growls punctuate
the mood with urgency, and, in less than three-and-a-half minutes, the squad
owns the song.
It
is its original music, however, where Fistula delivers its real coup de grace.
"Contusion" is its
selection from the split with Come to Grief, and it delivers a delicious mix
of sludge, with a hint of hardcore and doom. A pulsing bass courtesy of Greg
Peel undergirds the impenetrable riffs, while Dan Harrington's anguished vocals
command your focus. As a quintet, the group uses all its instruments to their
fullest potential; dual guitars, drums and bass stretch out across the nearly
six-minute track and set a pensive mood, only to recoil with fury again and
again as the song cranks up and finally down. You have a lot to look forward to
in the next release from one of sludge's best.
Both
Splits are available here
