Anal Cunt

Anal Cunt, also known as AxCx and A.C., was an American grindcore band that formed in Newton, Massachusetts, in 1988. From its inception, the band underwent a number of line-up changes and never had a bass player. The band, known for its flippant and noisy musical style as well as controversial lyrics, released eight full-length studio albums in addition to a number of compilations and extended plays. Anal Cunt disbanded in 2011 after the group's founder and frontman, Seth Putnam, died of a suspected heart attack.

The band is often referred to by their initials A.C. (often written as AxCx) due to the offensive nature of their name and censorship limits on some radio and publications, and many of their album covers simply display the initials A.C. However, the band managed to subvert even this abbreviation by drawing these letters in a manner resembling an anus and a vulva.

The group's early material contained no pre-written lyrics or music. Rather, the band developed an entirely improvised style which consisted of extremely loud, fast, and aggressive noise. Over time, the band gradually shifted their style and slowly began to incorporate more riffs and pre-written lyrics into their songs. It was not until then that Anal Cunt had earned the reputation for intentionally being outrageous and offensive. 2010 and 2011 saw the release of their final two albums; one of which is a " cock rock" album entitled '' Fuckin' A'', and another being an album of material similar to their old grindcore albums called ''Wearing Out Our Welcome''.

History

Formation (1988)

Anal Cunt was founded on March 1, 1988 in Newton, Massachusetts (a city adjacent to Boston) by Seth Putnam, who had previously been a member of bands such as Executioner and Satan's Warriors. The name Anal Cunt came from Putnam's attempt "to get the most offensive, stupid, dumb, etc. name possible". A common misconception is that the band is named after the song "Anal Cunt" by GG Allin,Torreano, Bradley. AC Biographyat AllMusic but in fact Allin's song was written years after the band had started. The band did, however, later in their career render tribute to him by recording a version of "I'll Slice Your Fucking Throat (If You Fuck with Me)", originally recorded by Allin and the Murder Junkies.

In ''Q'' magazine's 2005 book ''The Greatest Rock & Pop Miscellany Ever!'', Anal Cunt was included in a list of "25 Band Names That Should Have Stayed on the Drawing Board". Putnam originally formed the band as a joke, and they were supposed to only record one demo and do one show; however, they were active up to 2011, despite several brief break-ups.

Originally, the band was to produce a form of 'anti-music', without rhythm, beats, riffs, lyrics, song titles or any other of the normal features of a band, an approach exemplified by the ''5643 Song EP''.

Early performances and recordings and brief breakup (1988–1992)

The band's first performance was a rehearsal in 1988 at Putnam's mother's house in front of some family members, namely his mother, his two little brothers and his grandmother, as well as some of his mother's friends. Several other small performances followed, in various basements and living rooms, before their first public show live over the radio at Brandeis University, with Anal Cunt being the latest in the long line of Putnam's bands who had performed in this way. This was scheduled to be the band's first and last show. Putnam invited future member Fred Ordonez, from the band Shit Scum, to the show, but he failed to turn up. As a result, it was arranged for the two bands (Anal Cunt and Shit Scum) to play a concert together so Ordonez could see Putnam's band, and a further show was arranged at Shit Scum's rented practice warehouse. The first demo was recorded on a four-track in April in his mother's attic but this has never been mixed, released, or heard by anyone outside of the band members themselves.

After a few more shows, the band decided to attempt a U.S. tour, in August 1988, a few days before which they recorded their ''47 Song Demo'', which was later re-released on a compilation of the bands' material from the early years. They recorded their '' 88 Song EP'' later that year and after its release, a number of record labels started showing interest in the band, including Earache Records, with whom they would later sign a contract.

A few releases later, Earache Records again made an offer to the band, this time to license the ''5643 Song EP'' for a European pressing (and later to buy the whole pressing), but Anal Cunt continued to turn down such offers. This was also the point where the band decided they had done as much as they could and decided to split up, after releasing Another EP and completing their first European tour. This tour was in April, and recordings from this tour are numerous, appearing on the compilations ''Fast Boston HC The Early Years'' and the bootlegs ''Harmonized Noise'' and the Anal Cunt/ Patareni split.

Following appearances in a few other bands, including (recently reformed) George H. Brown (a blues rock act whose song "Foreplay with a Tree Shredder" would later be recorded by Anal Cunt for the album ''Top 40 Hits''), From Sloth to Anger, and Post Mortem, Seth Putnam and Tim Morse decided to reform Anal Cunt on March 1, 1991, exactly three years after they had initially formed.

After the band's reformation, they decided they wanted to change their style to avoid getting bored again. The guitarist for the new, slightly more musical, Anal Cunt was originally supposed to be future member Paul Kraynak but ended up being Fred Ordonez, an ex-boxer. Some more EPs followed, including the world's first acoustic noisecore record, the ''Unplugged EP'', before Putnam finally decided to introduce some elements of "real songs" into the band's material. Seth Putnam and Tim Morse tried out this idea in a six-song session in 1992, just before Putnam successfully auditioned for the reformed thrashcore band Siege, but it was a while before the plans were fully realized.

Later that year, Anal Cunt decided on another European tour. Despite the fact that Tim Morse pulled out at the last minute, the tour still went ahead, with the band deciding to find a drummer while they were touring. The two drummers who auditioned were not fast enough for the band, so Anal Cunt decided to have them both playing the same drum kit at the same time for the beginning of the tour, before resorting to just using the faster of the two. Most of the shows consisted of Putnam and Ordonez going into the crowd, punching people and destroying equipment, not only because of drunkenness but to conceal the fact that the drummer did not know their songs very well. This was also the tour that saw Putnam joining Fear of God on-stage as their drummer for one show and Putnam and Ordonez recording with ''Seven Minutes of Nausea''.

On returning to the U.S., Anal Cunt decided to get a second guitarist who could carry on playing with the drummer during the violence and shouting. The choice was John Kozik, and with him came a new era of the band.

The Earache years (1993–2000)

Although Anal Cunt had released a lot of material, their records were mostly out of print and hard to find, so they got in contact with Earache Records, which had previously shown an interest in the band. Anal Cunt wanted a label that would not only keep their records in stock but also pay for their tours, as the band at the time was operating essentially at a loss. Earache replied to Anal Cunt, asking to hear some new material. The band thereupon went into a studio in September to record what would later be released on Relapse Records as ''Morbid Florist''. Fred Ordonez briefly quit, but was invited to rejoin after unsuccessful searches for a replacement and Earache Records decided to sign them.

Anal Cunt started recording their first album on the label, '' Everyone Should Be Killed'', in March 1993. Soon afterwards, Ordonez was kicked out of the band for good and was replaced by Paul Kraynak. Recording was put on hold for a short West Coast tour in mid-1993, after which Kraynak too quit the band. This was also the tour when Putnam got arrested for hitting a woman in the face with a microphone in San Francisco during a show that, along with another show from earlier that year in Massachusetts, is documented on the EP '' Breaking the Law''.

After some searching for a replacement for Kraynak, Anal Cunt decided to just stick with one guitarist, John Kozik. Following the release of ''Everyone Should Be Killed'' in 1994, the band did more tours, one in Europe and one immediately afterwards in the United States. The European tour encompassed Germany, Belgium, Spain and Austria, and Anal Cunt were supported by W.B.I. and the Necrophiliacs; on the American tour, they were joined by Incantation, Morpheus Descends, Afterlife and Gutted.

The transition from noise-style to fast-hardcore-style songs began in the fall of that year with the recording of their next album ''Top 40 Hits'', which featured the single " Stayin' Alive (Oi! Version)".

Anal Cunt toured America again, and in June toured Japan for the first time. After this, Kozik was replaced by Scott Hull, of Pig Destroyer and Agoraphobic Nosebleed fame. With this line-up (or variations on it), the album '' 40 More Reasons to Hate Us'' was recorded.Torreano, Bradley. "40 More Reasons to Hate Us" – Overview AllMusic. This album marked another change in the band's direction, with lyrics – and insults – being included in their songs for the first time.

Another two-week long tour with Eyehategod followed, but Hull refused to tour and was temporarily replaced by a returning Kozik. After this tour, the band was again close to breaking up (for the second time), but instead decided to shuffle the line-up once more. The problem seemed to be with Tim Morse, so he was kicked out of the band. Seth Putnam was now the only surviving original member of Anal Cunt.

The band was briefly on hiatus while Putnam put together a new line-up. The only thing they recorded during this time was the song "You're Gonna Need Someone On Your Side", for the Smiths tribute album ''The World Still Won't Listen'', and the song "Two Turds and a Golf Ball" for the compilation CD of the same name, with Hull on guitar and Putnam performing drums and vocals. During this period, Putnam also did backing vocals for Pantera's ''The Great Southern Trendkill'' in New Orleans