Come To Grief / Fistula
A1 Come To Grief: “Take Me in My Sleep”
Ooof. “Take Me in My Sleep” is six minutes of bludgeoning, low-tuned, sluggish despair. Jon Hebert’s raspy growls relay the song title’s desperation. This is not a frantic, sweaty desperation, but one profusely embedded in hopelessness and defeat. If unfamiliar, Come To Grief is an off shoot of the sludge pioneers, Grief. (Come to Grief was the album title of Grief’s 1994 LP). This Massachusetts/New England four piece is Grief’s drummer, Chuck Conlon and Terry Stevastano (also of MA powerviolence kings, Disrupt). Bassist Tim Simpson now reps the low end. Grief defined sludge in a city/state known for rock and hardcore. Their unique approach is resurrected with Come To Grief who have been testing decibels for a few years. “Take Me in My Sleep” is a brutally miserable onslaught of loathsome attrition; chiseling at faith in restitution. This is a great companion to CTG’s 2017 EP, The Worst of Times.
B1 Fistula: “Contusion”
Fistula follows CTG’s pace with their track, dragging in at six minutes as well. “There is no hope, there is no reason why – we should go on – we should not die” are the lyrics sung by frontman, Dan Harrington. Harrington (owner of Patac Records) has been scorching pipes with Fistula since 2012. Fistula, centered by Corey Bing and Bahb Brancsaa, since 1998. Their recorded output started in 2001. Since then, they have rotated instrument roles (including Bing and Branca ) with varied miscreants and deplorables. Matching Come To Grief’s six minute mark, Fistula distinguish their imprint by sectioning their duration. At two minutes, the riff changes slightly in tone and tempo but not pace. The growls still spew vitriol at “fakes and liars, hypocrites”. Then at 3:25, a distinct crisp groove enters the picture; with a –(16)- or even Helmet or Fudge Tunnel (Creep Diets) type stomp and groove. The drums are clean and precise – I do not want to impress incorrectly any notion of funk or nu-metal. It’s just more exact then the drawn out sludge. Still heavy as hell and twisted and misanthropic. Bad ass song of fetid fury.
150 copies of silver metallic cassette; 100, Clear Vinyl; 150, Transparent Red/Black Smoke Vinyl (PATAC exclusive); 250, Black Vinyl
-(16)- / Fistula
A1 -(16)- : “Complications” (Killing Joke cover)
Here –(16)- grabs a classic Killing Joke track from their debut LP and extracts the spirits but churns the track with its own imprint. –(16)- utilizes their sludge stamp but highlights the melodic guitar line for contrast against the driving, fuzzy bass. Riding high from their 2016 LP, Lifespan of a Moth on Relapse. Here, “Complication” becomes darker and more sinister than its parent song.
B1 Fistula – Mongoloid (Devo cover)
Fistula hone in on Devo’s punk pith for their cover of “Mongoloid” from Devo’s venerable opus, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We are DEVO! and nail it. Devo take a track – whose name fits Fistula’s oeuvre all too well – and conjure the inner spite while eschewing any pop or electronic elements. Heavy reverb bass and dwon tuned riffs, strengthened by Harrington’s screams shape the ugliest beauty. “Mongoloid” becomes a tarnished, twisted track of rocking punk.
100x Clear Vinyl; 150x Aqua Vinyl (PATAC exclusive); 250x Black Vinyl
