Band:	Fistula
Album:	Destitute
Style:	Drone doom metal, Sludge metal
Release date:	April 11, 2015
A review by:	Auntie Sahar

01. Firstborn (Sobriety Continues)
02. Morgue Attendant
03. The Big Turnout
04. Destitute
05. The Time We Bought Dope From The Cops

Ohio's Fistula are an example of a band whose name goes perfectly hand in hand with the attitude of their music. Like the abnormal and harmful organ connections for which they are named, these guys are purveyors of grime and are all about the nastiness: eating, drinking, and bathing in it. 2015's Destitute is certainly no exception to this, and proves that although the band aren't changing up their formula anytime soon, they really don't need to.

The Destitute demo can be seen as a Fistula appetizer of sorts, a small taste of hell before we get a new full length from them later in the year. As with most of their releases (except for those two strange drone albums), the music here is a groovy, hard-hitting, and crunchy amalgamation of sludge and punk that delights in the fun of its own debaucherous excess. The riffs here are just catchy as all hell, and many moments across all five tracks ("Morgue Attendant," especially) are sure to get stuck in your head for days. The band strike a very commendable balance between their sludgey vibes and their punky ones: at times they take their music in the usual slow, thick, and heavy direction, and at other moments, particularly on the re-recording of "The Time We Bought Dope From The Cops," things are more upbeat, bouncy, and embracing of their hardcore side. Additionally, at the front helm new vocalist Dan Harrington gives an excellent delivery. He's one of those rare ones where, despite delivering harsh vocals, you can still fairly make out what he's saying even without needing to read any lyrics, and it's one of the most enjoyable aspects of the music.

Embellishing the mood of the demo and helping to create a bit of a darkly comedic atmosphere is the band's use of several audio samples. Fistula definitely have this technique down to a T. Much like with White Zombie, these samples kind of serve as the icing on their cake: the final push that reinforces all the crazy shit their lyrics touch upon. The declaration of "There's no Santa Claus, there's no Christmas, there's no God, there's no Easter Bunny, there's nothing, nothing, NOTHING!" on that closing track comes in at just the right moment with the right intent, and it goes perfectly with the band's filthy sludge antics.

The "if it aint broke, don't fix it" saying definitely applies to Fistula's Destitute demo. There's really nothing new that the band are doing here, but in many ways at this point changing things up would almost feel unnecessary. The band have a great formula that's working for them, and the power they conjure from it doesn't seem to be showing signs of decreasing anytime soon. If you consider yourself a fan of hardcore, sludge, or just really groovy music in general, and you haven't yet heard the music of Fistula, you need to change that.

Go smoke acid and shoot pills. All the cool kids are doing it.