Fister: No Spirit Within

The cover art for this album gives listeners a good sense of what to expect. The image shows what seems to be a skull but if you look closer you’ll see that it is actually an image of the skull lurking just beneath the skin. Look closer still and the image becomes the picture of a face just at the moment of decay and nothingness. If that sounds like the inspiration for some doom metal, you’ve come to the right place.

Fister has a solid reputation for creating music that is equally horrific and dark. This is the kind of music you might hear when your worst day becomes your worst nightmare only to end in nuclear annihilation. Most people consider the band sludge metal, but this is something more than that. The band describes it as “the sonic analogue of trench warfare, concussive, bloody, and exhausting.� That’s partially right. This is the sonic analogue of trench warfare but you’ve been badly wounded and there’s a bomb headed right for you.

Things start out with a sense of structure and calm, but they quickly shift into sounds that are consistently despairing and sad. From there, the music descends even further into the abyss, sending back musical darkness and decay mixed with noise and mayhem. The good news is that Fister is a strong band and they know how to put everything together effectively. Of the album’s 7 tracks, I liked “Cazador� the most, probably because part of it had a faster tempo than some of the others. It’s also a killer song. I also really liked “I Am Kuru� and “Star Swallower.� The scariest song is “Heat Death,� mostly because it captures the kind of noise one might hear when there’s nothing left.

Track Listing:
1. Frozen Scythe
2. Disgraced Possession
3. Cazador
4. I Am Kuru
5. No Spirit Within
6. Heat Death
7. Star Swallower

Added: July 5th 2018
Reviewer: Carl Sederholm
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 1015
Language: english

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