Fistula

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- About 100 fans who bought a copy of Akron-based heavy-metal band Fistula's latest album, "Goat," received a bonus gift -- an evidence baggie containing soil reportedly from the front yard of the Imperial Avenue house where the remains of 11 women were found last year.

The album, which was recorded on vinyl, was inspired by the case of Anthony Sowell, who is charged with the aggravated murder of the 11 women and attacks on three others. The 51-year-old Cleveland man faces the death penalty if convicted. He has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to go on trial Feb. 14.

The concept album and the group's marketing strategy -- particularly, the soil souvenir -- have fueled a national debate over whether people should profit from grisly crimes and others' misery.

Andy Kahan, the victim advocate for the city of Houston, is among the nation's most outspoken critics of "murderabilia," a term he coined in 1999 to describe goods and artifacts commemorating the work of infamous killers.

Kahan said devoting an album or artwork to a serial killer offers the criminal undeserved immortality and is like a sucker punch to the families of victims.

"It's one of the most nauseating and disgusting feelings that a victim's family can experience," Kahan said. "You've got third parties making blood money on the diabolical, gruesome death of one of your loved ones."

Fistula guitarist and songwriter Corey Bing said in an interview last week that the concept for the album sprang from his reactions to the first images he saw of Sowell -- mug shots and footage of sheriff's deputies escorting him into a courtroom.

"His eyes just looked black, like a demon," Bing said. "And I don't believe in stuff like that, but this dude looked evil to me, like he was seriously jacked up or possessed."

Low tunings and heavy vocals set the tone in songs titled "Ohio Death Toll Rising," "One Chair and an Electrical Cord," "The Ones That Got Away," "So Far Sowell So What," and "Mission Accomplished." Sound bites from news coverage and media interviews with victims are spliced into the recording.

The album's cover art depicts a malevolent goat -- an animal often associated with the devil -- with Sowell's face etched on the center of its forehead. The goat's neck is wreathed in human skulls. And it is holding a crack pipe and a bottle of malt liquor, representing two vices investigators believe Sowell used to lure his victims to their deaths.

The idea to include dirt from Sowell's yard as a memento for loyal fans came much later in production, Bing said.

Bing was recording in the studio in August when Travis Witherell, owner of Hydro-Phonic Records, took a field trip to Sowell's home. There, he snapped photos and collected soil from the small patch of land near the curb -- the only part of the property not caged in by a 14-foot-tall chain-link fence.

Bing said a Cleveland police officer looked on from a nearby cruiser as Witherell worked. The car even appears in one of the photos, he said.

Attorney Rufus Sims, who is representing Sowell in his criminal case and two wrongful-death lawsuits filed against him recently, chuckled at the notion of attaching significance to soil from his client's yard.

"I'm sure that album is selling like hotcakes on Imperial Avenue," Sims joked. "After looking at 4,500 photographs of some pretty morbid stuff, this news brings great levity to my day. I think it's pretty humorous, and quite frankly, we could use a little humor right now."

The dirt was included only in the Deluxe Crime Scene Edition of "Goat," which was limited to 100 copies and has sold out. The special edition was pressed on glow-in-the-dark vinyl and wrapped in police crime scene tape. The package also featured photos of the house and a large two-sided poster, a collage of newspaper articles about the killings.

Plenty of artists have cashed in on the public's fascination with violent crime, producing serial killer-themed wall calendars, snow globes, clocks, watches, comic books and even action figures. And Fistula certainly is not the first band to write music about murder.

A Chicago band called Macabre, whose repertoire includes an album detailing the life of Milwaukee serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, is considered the quintessence of the so-called "murder metal" genre.

Although some might consider the music and artwork in poor taste, they're perfectly legal and constitutionally protected speech.

Ohio law prohibits convicted murderers from selling their stories for profit. And eight other states have laws against killers sending items, such as letters, cards and artwork, from prison to vendors who peddle them to collectors.

A Senate bill introduced in June would clamp down entirely on the flow of such memorabilia from prisons nationwide.

But the federal law would not control manufactured products, including music. Nor would it stop dealers from selling relics related to notorious killings -- such as the soil from Sowell's yard.

Kahan, who has purchased many such items just to get them off the market, said soil is a rare find for industry aficionados. Years ago, he recalled, dirt purportedly from the crawl space where 26 of serial killer John Wayne Gacy's victims were buried sold for $40 a bag.

Kahan said the only way for Fistula to alleviate its ethical burden would be to contact the victims' families to discuss the band's objectives and offer a percentage of the proceeds.

Florence Bray, whose daughter Crystal Dozier and niece Amelda Hunter both were found dead in the Imperial Avenue house, said the band has not contacted her. But she said she's not surprised to hear about the album, adding that the media is just as guilty of capitalizing on the case.

"It's the repetition of the story that hurts," Bray said. "Eventually you have to give people a chance to heal. All I can tell you is that it's been over a year, and it hurts today like it did last year."

Christine Schobey, aunt of victim Kim Yvette Smith, said she's not offended by the "Goat" album and defended the band's right to produce it.

"If there is a way to make a profit, people are going to try," Schobey said.

But Fistula will be lucky to break even, Bing says -- especially since overseas fans have complained they're having trouble getting their special-edition "Goat" albums through international shipping services because of the soil sample.

"We're not going to sell a million copies, and I'm not going to get rich," Bing said. "And I didn't do it to prove how heavy my band is. I just wanted to deliver a message: Stop watching TV -- it's not real. Go look at your sexual offenders list and find out which perverts are living in your neighborhood."

Bing says the band is well-intentioned and wanted to use its medium to encourage people to take responsibility for the safety of their communities -- to have greater awareness of their surroundings and the suspicious behavior of others.

"What happened in that house is real," Bing said. "And sometimes if you want to make a point, you have to be extreme."

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010...nds_album.html