Fistula sounds like a medical condition, a hole in your inner body composition, which you don’t want to experience. When a metal band usually goes for such medical term in its moniker, you can often expect a blistering grindcore or brutal death metal. In preparation to review this split I sampled a few Fistula tracks. After all, these Akron, OH, natives are in existence for a couple of decades and them being from the state I call home, I wanted to add to their recognition. Fistula are kind of difficult to categorize and they are definitely not speedy grinders. The notion attached to the band is sludgecore, where hardcore, southern style sludge and pretty much a bad disposition towards everything combine. Their track Whore Cancer on this 7” split with another Ohio institution Hemdale follows pretty much the same blueprint. The explanation for this track origin is some sort of a negative experience with a shortlived DIY label of some sort. Sonically, Whore Cancer starts as a dirty chord driven proclamation manifesto, almost doomy in a way, much slower in terms of tempo than I anticipated. Begrudgingly, Fistula pushes on and finishes on a shortlived outburst, just as nasty as the rest of the track.

Death grinders Hemdale follow the opposite direction. At first Miley is percussion driven and pulverizingly brutal, something along the lines of Skinless. After that Cleveland residents break down their own groove and succumb to some form of tortured dementia, with vocals fittingly changing their tone as well. Nothing pleasant to be heard of on Miley either, it isn’t going to brighten the mood. To dedicate the song (sarcastically I am assuming) to Hannah Montana transformation into Miley Cyrus is so … death metal.

Two peas in a pod, Fistula and Hemdale deserve each other on this split.