Fister are capping off their 10th anniversary with an album of disparate Metal covers, all pushed out through their own warped, unique filter. These guys live and breathe Doom, with lungs full of Sludge, Thrash, and Death. Even the album name, “Decade of Depression,” is a bastardization of Slayer’s “Decade of Aggression” album.
Loose and live-feel are usually a kiss of death, but Fister make it sound intentional and planned, not sloppy or amateurish. The general pace of the songs is dirgelike, but the tempos range out all over the place, sometimes for the same repeated parts in the same songs. This seems especially prevalent in classics we all know by heart. Isolated leads end up played at the original’s speed, while seconds later, other sections slow down to Sludgy crawls, like mules stumbling into quicksand. Again, I have to reiterate that while this is awkward, it also often works, and sounds like it’s by design.

The above is glaringly evident in their take on the Metallica icon, “For Whom the Bell Tolls.” Bonus points to Fister , though, for the way they segue from the bell at the end of instrumental, “City of the Living Dead” into “For Whom.” Three other standouts on “Decade of Depression:”
Their take on Slayer’s “Mandatory Suicide” is solid, but maybe meanders a bit too long.
“Too Old Too Cold,” originally by Darkthrone, simply rocks.
The cover of Danzig’s best song: “How the Gods Kill,” is also subject to unexpected tempo shifts and drifts, but it somehow really works in Fister’s. . . um. . . hands. If we’re being honest, I still prefer the original version, but this one is a worthy alternate take - - probabaly the best song on "ecade of Depression."
That’s a pretty good overall assessment of the entire album: worthy alternate takes. Two more advisories for prospective listeners, though:
These are SludgeDoom translations, not faithful reproductions.
A tolerance for Death Metal vocals is necessary.