Ok,
when and how did Putrescence came into being? What drove
you to form the band? Can you introduce all the band members?
I know you also perform vocals for Head Hits Concrete,
do some of the other guys in Putrescence come from other
bands also?
The
band was barfed into creation as a result of a local band
Seven Plagues dissolving. The drummer and bass player
of that band had become interested in starting something
filthy, gruesome and gory. They had started writing some
songs and they happened upon me on the street. They are
nice people and I was happy to hear that they were interested
in starting something that reflected my own personal taste
in music. They told me they needed a lead singer and the
idea stuck with me. It was during a trip to Oakland where
I saw Impaled and smelled the shit-caked streets of the
Mission District that I decided that this style of music
was what I wanted to be doing. I flew back to Winnipeg
and had my attorney contact these ex-Seven Plagues guys
at once. Our guitar player was onboard shortly thereafter.
As
far as intros are concerned, we have our buff male model,
the Dark Lord Skullbong who pounds the cans of death.
He is currently single and depressed. He can be found
in one of the many techno bars in town getting his cranium
smashed into the out doors as he finds himself getting
ejected from da club for drunken behaviour. Our bass player
and my own fellow hermit friend Necromagnon enjoys an
incredible credit rating, quiet times by himself and serves
as the bands' chief movie connoisseur. He adds the low
end SOD influenced bass lines to our band. Our guitar
player Grimmgore, drives expensive cars, uses razorblades
to slice his own tongue and gets off on European melodic
black metal as well as Japanese cartoon porn. I forget
what the fuck he calls that shit. I am a family man myself.
I create children in my own image. I enjoy fein scotch
and have a problem with having to throw shit filled underwear
into Mr. Sub garbage cans, hence my name, Soiled Depends.
Head
Hits Concrete just broke up so now Putrescence is my only
active thingamajig. Skullbong plays in a Marduk-inspired
BM band called Diademigon, Necromagnon plays pass in a
horror-themed punk band called the Martian Graverobbers
and Grimmgore plays in a melodic BM band called Lykeum.
How
would describe your sound? How do you compose songs, together
or is there one mastermind behind it all? Can you cite
some bands that you think really influence Putrescence
song writing?
Our
sound reminds me of a coffin being flushed down a toilet,
complete with the sound of jackhammers, airplane engines
and death rattles. It's fucking out of control and confounds
the weak and the timid. I don't think there is one mastermind
behind the song writing. We all have unique perspectives
and end up bring different elements to the process. This
understanding has helped us to develop patience and tolerance
for each others' ideas. We like to disseminate each others'
riffs and patterns out before assembling song structures.
We all listen to very cult music like Journey, Bill Biv
Devo and Infectious Grooves so we are very cautious to
never hurry things and risk leaving anyone's riffs in
the dirt before we an hear them..
Right
now, the main bands that are influencing me are Phobia,
Sanity's Dawn, newer Regurgitate, Warsore and General
Surgery. Right now I am not as influenced as much by total
blur bands like Fear of God or 7 Minutes of Nausea, I
want to hear devastating riffs that warp the mind as well
as brutal breakdowns that remind me of Haymaker for god
sakes.
Your lyrics are definitely gory,
although it's more like darkly humorous... It reminds
me of early Carcass mixed with "A Chapter of Accidents'
by Dead Infection... Is it what you were going for with
the gore thing?
Lyrically,
I am definitely touched by macabre, the gruesome and the
odd. Dead Infection and Carcass are both influences. I
think of our lyrics as a cross between being unable to
unsnap a pair of jeans and accidentally slipping in a
pile of dog shit. I am also unashamed in my worship of
Birdflesh for truly tearing the gore grind scene a much
needed new one. They are pioneers of the new millennium
and we Hail them as true Kings of Metal.
How
do you go from Head Hits Concrete, a band with socially
charged lyrics to blood and guts type of things with Putrescence?
What's your views on the whole gore scene?
I
think that our song "Blood loss And Trauma from a
Vengeful Hatchet Assault to Penile Shaft" is a prime
example of what we are about. We seek to empower the disenfranchised
and to be the voice of the voiceless. It doesn't matter
that someone should find themselves turned into a quadriplegic;
it doesn't give people the green light to take advantage
of them by cheating on a wheelchair bound partner. We
demand justice for these handicapped by calling for the
severing of an offending member as a warning to scumbags
everywhere. What's right is right. Through our brutal
music we are creating a safer place for the ugly, the
downtrodden and the sweatpant-clad victims of privilege
and stupidity. It's time to fight back! When the metal
scene turns its back on our own, we are all truly doomed.
"Mangled,
Hollowed Out and Vomit filled" is the one of the
finest if not the finest gore cd out this year in my opinion!
I think you managed to get a sound production that really
clicks just right... How's been the response about it
so far? Are you personally satisfied with the result,
is there anything you would change in it?
Thanks for saying so! I was totally blown away by how
that ended up. One of the reasons why it turned out so
well is because we recorded it in the woods out by Winnipeg
Beach. We had a foul-smelling old haggard individual drunk
on moonshine trespass into the studio where I believe
he placed some kind of woodsman curse on us, the gear
and the mountain of alcohol that we brought with us. After
he sized us up and then screamed an expletive-laded diatribe
about the coming pestilence of root sucking beetles, we
were spooked and an element of despair gripped the entire
recording session. This fear translated into a recording
session that our sound engineer was able to work wonders
with during the mix down once we were safely back in town.
As
for the mix down itself, we got to provide feedback and
to help our engineer make things sound well. We almost
got into a fist fight over the vocals. He chided us over
the fact that we wanted them up "at Celine Dion"
levels and he was scared at having them so loud in the
mix. It was his first death grind recording, so we forgave
him for his insolence.
The
response has been very positive. I have read reviews and
I am honoured that people who I respect and admire have
nice things to say about it. We are all encouraged to
the point where we have placed unrealistic expectations
upon ourselves and now fight over every stinking riff.
Hopefully we will get over ourselves and return to writing
from the heart instead of from the wallet.
What
other releases are there besides the cd? There was a demo
before it right? Does it contain different tracks than
what's on the "Mangled..." cd?
We
have a demo called "Occult Blood and Excrement"
that is now sold out unless someone wants to trade for
a copy of the Malignant Tumor/Squash Bowels EP. The tracks
contained on it are all re-recorded and they all appear
on the "Mangled…" CD. The demo was recorded
by the same guy who did our CD, so for what it's worth,
he's getting to know us more and more with each session.
What
other stuff will be coming next? Anything planned yet?
We
have a couple of things on the table and are half-assedly
talking with a couple of people who would like to help
us out. We sort of came out of nowhere and so no one was
really expecting to have to deal with our unsolicited
requests for new releases. I expect that there will be
a return to the studio by years' end or early next year
to record for an EP or a split, but we shall see.
You
seem to have been playing live quite a lot lately, right?!
Just inside Canada? What usually goes on during a Putrescence
live show? What are some of the bands you played with?
Yes,
we are stuck eight hours away from anywhere that would
welcome us to play, so it takes a lot of effort us to
play out of Winnipeg. So far we have kept our travels
limited to brutalizing Western Canada during a couple
of weekend trips when we can get the ball and chain off,
if you know what I mean. We have been very fortunate so
far in that we have played with some fucking cool bands
like Neuraxis, Cryptopsy, DFA, Thorozine, Mass Grave,
Strapping Young Lad, Tard and Electrocutionerdz.
It's
what goes on off stage that makes a Putrescence show what
it is. Whether we're drinking absinthe and snorting horse
tranquilizers before we get on the stage or getting slapped
in the face by dudes bigger than us, we like to prepare
for a show by getting wild and insane. Skullbong has been
hassling us to get nurses outfits or something like that,
but we never get paid so we can't afford these stupid
outfits right now. Maybe soon I shall purchase an unholy
plastic meat cleaver to terrorize those who encroach upon
the stage.
What's your current playlist/favorite
bands? What are some cool Canadian bands people really
need to check out? What do you listen to besides grind
& underground stuff?
Right
now I know that some of us are saying that our favourite
bands are Tran Am, The Fucking Champs as well as My Chemical
Romance, but I have no idea who they are. I just got handed
Fleetwood Mac's "Rumors" album that I've been
going ape shit over these days. I suspect that it won't
leave my deck for a couple of weeks.
As
far as Canadian shit that people should check out is concerned,
I recommend Goatsblood, Rammer, Thorozine, Mesrine, Fistfuck,
Malefaction, Maniac Sumo Cunt, Neckbeerd, Tard, Skeleton,
Kursk, and Under Pressure. Most of that shit is grindy,
but there are a couple of hardcore bands mentioned that
I just can't do without.
Ok,
this is the point where I'm starting to grasp at straws
to find questions... I see there is a link to Rue Morgue
in your website... Is it maybe possible that you're into
horror movies? What are some of your favorite ones?
If you had to pick one movie to compare Putrescence's
music to, which one would it be?
Shit like Ichie The Killer, Dead Alive, anything by Takachi
Miike is always popular. We are into zombie flicks of
all stripes, from every classic George A. Romeo flick
to lower budget classics like Burial Ground. Necromagnon
will watch anything and everything so he can engage in
deep debates over every element of a movie with his brood
of movie geeks. It's really hard to keep up with him sometimes,
but his wealth of knowledge is always available to the
rest of us.
If
we had to compare our music to a movie, it likely be "Meet
The Feebles".
And
that's all I've got... Thanks for answering this stuff!
Any closing comments?
Your
amazing site keeps me up on what's happening and it's
a much valued resource to me. I hope that your hard work
does not go unnoticed because it rocks my world. Thanks
for taking the time to do this. All the best, mate!
www.putrescence.com
info@putrescence.com
Putrescence
PO Box 26014
116 Sherbrook St.
Winnipeg, MB R3C 4K9 Canada
