Many musicians, after long time careers, want to make some homage to their past and musical influences. That's the reason for live version for their favorite songs, or maybe EPs and whole albums dedicated to their musical influences. And celebrating 10 years of existence, the North American trio FISTER, from St. Louis, comes storming with "Decade of Depression". Their music is based on a mix of Doom Metal slow tempos with the bitter and crude ambience of Sludge Metal. But on this album, they took old songs from old names that influenced their music and made their own versions. So imagine Doom/Sludge Metal versions for bands as SLAYER and METALLICA? Yes, they did it, and they are sounding fine in this new insight.

The production of "Decade of Depression" was focused on the creation of something that could be crude and harsh (during the guitar solos, no rhythm guitar can be heard), but that the listener could understand (a worry that many bands don't have). So the fans will experience a good time due the sonority of the album. There are eight very good songs waiting to be heard, and as the best shots, their versions for METALLICA's "For Whom the Bell Tolls" (the slow paced tempos fit on the songs, and the bitter ambiance created by the guitars is excellent), SLAYER's "Mandatory Suicide" (extremely bone crushing tempos created by bass guitar and drums), the Hardcore/Punk touch of DARKTHRONE's "Too Old Too Cold" (great snarls and screams), DANZIG's "How the Gods Kill" (amazing bitter and somber ambiance of introspective parts with aggressive moments), and HELLHAMMER's "Reaper". But a hearing on the re-recorded version for their song "The Failure" will show how their influences fit on the musical work.

Yes, "Decade of Depression" is a very good release, and deserves to be heard at full volume. FISTER really isn't like other bands from the same genre that bores the listener.