Man, I miss Seth Putnam. Not only was he in like 5 of my most favorite fucking bands but we'll probably never have that bitter self-depreciating comedic wit again in noise music without it being completely (and slavishly I'm sure) derivative of the shit he did. While Anal Cunt basked in the drug-addled/prison-bound off-season of the early 2000's, Putnam was busy getting another band off its feet: the über-depressing sludgecore trio Full Blown A.I.D.S.
FBA released two ridiculously limited 12" records on Limited Appeal Records which finally got compiled together (with a bonus track, 'natch) as a CD on Putnam's own Wicked Sick Records. But instead of me breaking down the 411 on the two recordings, let's hear it from the man himself (written for his label website way back in 2008...)
Regarding the Full Blown A.I.D.S. 12":
"I started the band in 1997, but didn't really get it rolling until
late 2002. I got old friends Paulie Kraynak on bass (who used to play
with me in Anal Cunt) and Rob Williams (who I used to play with in
Siege and a couple of other bands) on drums.
The main
inspiration to get this recorded was that I was asked to do a song for a
Thor movie called Graveyard. So along with that song, "Throwing Cars At People On Coke With Thor," (which was also released on his CD Triumphant), we ended up recording the six other songs. We played a show
about 6 months after recording it and were getting ready to record
another session in October 2004 (in order to have enough material for a
full-length) but it got pushed back due to me being in a coma.
In 2006, an impatient fan (and a cool guy) talked me into releasing
this - and I'm glad I did because it is probably one of the greatest
recordings I have ever made. I went to a really good studio instead of
being cheap and going into a lesser-quality studio.
The
result is this great recording which was well worth all the money
spent. It was recorded by Ken Cmar, who I had worked with in the past
with my band, Anal Cunt . This recording was mixed by Ken and myself and could've fit onto a 7" record, but I wanted it to be a
12". We put all the songs onto one side of the record, which I thought
was a cool idea."
Regarding the Leech 12":
"This record was originally meant to be recorded in October 2004 but didn't get done due to me going into a coma, and not being able to move for a long time (including not being able to walk for 8 months). But a lot of determination and hard work got me back to be able to function about 90% back to normal.
This session, recorded at New Alliance's new location in Cambridge, MA is a 100% analog recording, recorded on a 24-track, 2" reel machine, and mixed down to a ½" reel. It was really important for me to have a true analog sound for this recording, because it is one of the heaviest things I have ever recorded.
The songs on this record differ from the first record. The first record was heavy punk while this one is much more doom sounding. The song "Leech" is definitely one of my favorite songs that I have ever written and recorded. It is so fucking heavy, it totally rules. I don't usually brag about songs I have written, but this song deserves it. I would say it is probably the heaviest song ever recorded.
This record was recorded and mixed on January 3rd, 2003 at New Alliance recording studios in Boston, MA. The music could be described as super heavy, tuned-down punk rock. All the songs were written in the late 1990's during a period of extreme drug use, depression, fucked-up derelicts loitering around my apartment, a tumultuous marriage, and tons of misery surrounding me constantly. It was very inspiring creatively for writing heavy, depressing, and aggressive music.
Like our first record, this one is filled with a barrage of negative, hate-filled lyrics about very personal things. The song on side 2, "Everything" is the longest song I have ever recorded (over 15 minutes long) and was written in 1990 for a band I used to be in called George H. Brown. It is 15 minutes of pure misery... it would be a perfect soundtrack to a successful suicide attempt. I didn't overdub any of the vocals in this song - I did it all in one take. Ken Cmar (who recorded this session) considered stopping the reel because I looked as full of extreme torture-filled pain as I sounded... turning various shades of red as I exerted as much of nearly 40 years worth of anger, rage and violence that I could muster. Ken quoted, "It was extremely painful to watch him record that..."
"For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)" is AC/DC tuned down an octave lower (for a way heavier guitar sound) with the singer from Anal Cunt screaming the lyrics. At the end of the song if you turn it up loud, you can hear Paulie saying "Yay!" triumphantly for getting the song recorded perfectly on the first take. And the song "Fact Finder," like the song, "Leech," is about someone who I tend to despise frequently for being a know-it-all parasite.
To sum up this record: if you like doom-laden, despair-ridden, suicidal-feeling, heavy, heavy shit, that's really heavy, and totally heavy, this is something you must own."
While I'm partial to the self-titled EP, there is something so ridiculously heavy and absolutely miserable about Leech that it's amazing in retrospect it got recorded. Awesome shit. Enjoy.
Currently watching: Elite Squad
Currently listening to: Mistress In Disgust We Trust
