originally written by Jim Brandon
Serial killers are such a wonderful thing to hear about bright and early on the morning news. Everything is pretty much uphill for the rest of your day after that, and there’s just something so ballsy and bold about Midwestern murderers that puts them in a class all their own. With the Goat EP, Ohio sludge mavens Fistula gently reminds us of the tale of one Mr. Anthony Sowell, a rapist from Cleveland who was arrested in connection with the disappearance of eleven people (that we know of) in October of 2009. He’s no Jeffrey Dahmer or John Wayne Gacy, but in boring times like these, he’s interesting enough, I suppose.
I’ve always felt that Fistula is best absorbed in small doses, and this vomitous five-track, twenty-four-minute burst of gnarly sludge is the perfect serving size for my tastes. Digging in with both hands, the slow roasting of “Ohio Death Toll Rising” is a mouthy appetizer that sets the tone for this endeavor with corroded Sabbathy riffs, rippling with distortion and insatiable bottom end. Beefier and more cloying than a sausage factory, “One Chair And An Electrical Chord” lumbers along unhurriedly most of the time, only briefly switching up the tempo into something a bit more hardcore-ish, but “The Ones That Got Away” shows off some headlong aggression and a massively chunky riff bombardment that injects quite a bit of vigor into the mix before gradually slowing back down to a grinding crawl.
For the most part Fistula nails the style with filthy expertise, never letting things get too monotonous or predictable, and their use of various sound clips relating to the subject matter actually helps to maintain the focus, enhancing the seething “So Far Sowell So What” with sobs of the relatives of his victims with a very human vibe. “Mission Accomplished” trudges through rather plainly, but they pull some meat off the bone as the track concludes with a furious increase of speed, livening the otherwise bland conclusion with enough energy to make this an overall well-rounded and solid sampling of greasy sludge done right.
There’s just enough here to keep you nice and full until another long-player is unleashed from this raunchy bunch. To me, less has always been more where Fistula is concerned, and we sure didn’t need an entire full-length inspired by this asshole, so for fans of the band Goat is a no-brainer purchase. For the newbies, be warned: keep your hands inside the ride, or you might lose ‘em.
