Fister

Right now I want to talk about the extra blazing video they conjured for their song “DEAF WISH” off of The Infernal Paramount. The visual is not only mad fucking heavy, but the song is also a fucking banger! So peep this motherfucking killer video below, but make sure you don’t burn your eyes out in the process. - Cvlt Nation

A powerful doom band who have been around for a while now is Fister, from St Louis, Missouri. This three piece has released a new EP, entitled ‘The Infernal Paramount’, in both vinyl and download formats. A bleak, dark, heavy sound, this two-track EP contains all the elements of the sludge/doom style that you could want. The vocals are savage, and there are also death metal guitar influences in there too, for sure. This is angry, uncompromising and thoroughly unpleasant music which means that it’s a must listen. - Rip It Up

A two song offering is always a dangerous one. What if one song, or both for that matter, doesn't measure up? Is it long enough? What if they don't make a big enough impact? But here, Fister can put those worries to bed. These two tracks, separately and together, carry with them the weight of all three members; the blood, sweat and tears that undoubtedly went into every second, every note. This isn't an exhibition on how to play faster than the other guys, or how to overuse effects like so many other bands. "The Infernal Paramount" covers the two criteria that you will never go wrong with: simplicity and substance. Isn't that worth every ounce of sweat?

9/10 - Sorrow Eternal

The title track is a slow-burn dirge; Heavy and thematic, but it gives way to the band’s finer work which is yet to come. The tension begins to mount with “Santabbath” as it leads in with a mellow, enigmatic feel. It’s not long before the boys lower the boom, however and the crusty sludge rains down in all it’s blackened glory. “Mazda Of Puppets” begins with a unearthly blast of guitar feedback – it’s like standing front and center as the gates of hell are pulled open. This is definitely a riff-heavy number and a strong showing for the lads. Sludgey and menacing, “First” is another one of the album’s primo tracks. At the conclusion of the new batch of studio recordings is “Trainwrecked” which offers a more bluesy, psychedelic take on the band’s signature sound and is a perfect way to wind things down. - The Bone Reader

Anyone who has ever been through Saint Louis knows that it’s a dark, muggy town. What better representatives for the city, then, than the doomy sludge monsters Fister. Sticking to traditional roots of novel packaging, this past month, the band has released two gems. The first is Violence, 25 minutes that spans the history of bloodshed by mankind. Album art packaging includes five artists illustrating one of the five movements of the song. The ink for the booklet was mixed with the band members’ own blood for printing. The second is The Infernal Paramount, a two track vinyl which plays from the inside/out, ending with a surprise locked groove at the finale. Doom never looked so good. - Lost at E Minor

Bronsonic starts out with the title track and the music wastes no time getting down to the bone crushing devastation. The guitars and bass tuned down so low it would shake the decibel levels. Kenny’s throat ripping vocals give way to sonic pandemonium. While the riffs repeat they will induce a stoned out trance. An interesting solo transpires to close out the song. Santabbath kicks in with an ultra slow doom groove and provokes you to grab the bong. I don’t know how much slower this could get. Trainwrecked shows a bit of Sleep influence. One of the longer songs on this album with its spaced out riffs jammed into oblivion, clocks in at over eleven minutes. Riff Glacier, which was also on their demo, closes out the album with its mind blowing ultra sonic riffs. Overall the recording of Bronsonic is heavy on the distortion on the low end. What else would you expect? Like Electric Wizard and Sleep, FISTER have proved themselves worthy in the world of doom with Bronsonic. Going old school and originally releasing Bronsonic on limited casstte tape, the album is available for download on their website. There is now a Leathal Overdose edition of Bronsonic available with 5 additional tracks most of which are from their demo, plus a Bathory cover. - Nocturnal Hall

Since 2009, Fister has stood tall as a singular pillar in St. Louis' metal community. Known for delivering Sabbath-esque doom at a snail's pace, the band's skillful dynamics traverse the tried elements that plague the genre. Aiming to be the loudest band in the city, Fister trudges on with roughneck progressions through a wall of amps, delivering a drudging exultation of fire and brimstone. Worshipping at the broken altar of bands such as Sleep and Dopethrone, its songs bellow with a darkened swagger, baptized in weed smoke and sworn to all that is unholy. Though humorous titles like "Witchfucker" and "Mazda of Puppets" hint at blatant parody, their music serves as a serious testament to true passion and solid musicianship. This month finds the shred-heavy trio releasing The Infernal Paramount EP, some of its most realized and lethal material to date. - The Riverfront Times

Fresh off the release of its split twelve-inch with Lion's Daughter, Fister doesn't so much play music as bludgeon you with it. Its side of the split, titled And Their Masters Bled for Days, is a trudging trio of songs best played at ear-splitting volume while punching something. "Witchfucker," in particular, is a monolith of defiant bass and screaming guitar. "Santabbath" gets a reprise from the band's recent album, Bronsonic, which was originally released on cassette and later appeared online in an expanded Bronsonic — Lethal Overdose Edition with a half-dozen demos from 2009. (KM) - The Riverfront Times

"Violence" has a more dense and heavy atmosphere than the bands previous efforts. Judging by the title of the songs, they all seem to be connected to this main theme, violence. And Fister proves that you don't have to play lightning fast to prove that you're violent. They just play slow and crushing heavy, giving to their own conceptual version of violence, a more psychologic than physical meaning. - Forever Cursed

The best sludge metal is often mired in nihilistic rage, misanthropy and sheer fuck-it-all attitude. It's heavier than a herd of elephants riding a gam of whales, if such a thing ever came to fruition. Fister, if you didn't know, play real heavy sludge/doom metal, and they don't mess about when it comes to pounding your head with slow megaton riffs and the loud beat of the drums, in much the same fashion as described above. - We Must Obey

While there are many truly heavy bands in the Midwest, St. Louis’ Fister seem to be producing some of the heaviest music west of the Mississippi. - Skeletal Lightning

The Infernal Paramount EP includes two tracks, Deaf Wish (already well-known thanks to a cool official video posted by the band last winter) and River Coffins, for about 12 minutes of beefy kick-ass, nasty sludge doom mixed with some great crusty accelerations or else post-metal straining dissonance. The crusty component is well represented in Deaf Wish, which is an extremely groovy track. River Coffins is a hint to the deep darkness found in Violence with its gloomy plodding melody, its tortured chanting, its alienating dissonance and its outro via eerie dark space metal effects plus the robot like voice fading away …
Apparently these ones won’t be the last tunes by Fister for this year. The St. Louis sludgy trio is working on something else. In the meantime you can have fun with all that is available, old and new tunes and tapes by Fister and the tricky LP … 9/10 - Doommantia

Fister are definitely a doom band, but the obligatory thick, super-low-tuned slowness is rendered extra harsh by blackened vocals, and extra large thanks to having been recorded in “a really big room.” There are also nice little additions like bits of atmospheric shredding in the vein of Will Haven’s Carpe Diem album which shift Violence up and out of straightforward heavy now and again. This release sees Fister firmly in the more visceral camp of modern doom and sludge bands; not quite as left field and abrasive as the likes of Khanate, but there’s certainly a predilection for something more bleak and brutal than straight-up Sabbath worship. Basically if you’re looking for an American answer to some of the great, current British bands such as Moloch and Slomatics, then this will almost certainly be your cup of strong, horrible tea. - The Sleeping Shaman

Opening the show was local doom metal regular Fister, which manages to get better every single time I see the band. Its sound was thick and gigantic, a crushing wall of misanthropy and anger, the sound of the whole world slowly crumbling to dust. The respect owed to these three St. Louis heshers was evident not only by the audience's undivided attention, but by the front and center presence of Yob singer/guitarist/founder Mike Scheidt, who stood at the stage bobbing his head to the band's entire set. It was an act that set the tone: this was not a show about egos and rock stars -- there was a refreshing sense of community and common interest and love of good music. - The Riverfront Times