Flattbush is a heavy metal band from

Bellflower, California Bellflower is a city located in southeast Los Angeles County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. It was founded in 1906 and municipal corporation, incorporated on September 3, 1957. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total popu ...

, a small city within

South Central Los Angeles South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown. It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as a ...

county. The group was established in early 1993 by Enrico Maniago (vocals), Brian Legaspi (lead guitar), Eric Long (rhythm guitar), Arman Maniago (bass guitar), and Anthony Gonzales (drums). Brian Legaspi exited the group in 1994, the band then became a quartet. Flattbush performed numerous high school and college concerts before entering into the

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

and

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...

bar and club circuit. In 1998, Flattbush made a name for themselves by opening for

Melt Banana Melt-Banana is a Japanese noise rock band that is known for playing extremely fast noise rock mixed with experimental, electronica and pop-based song structures. Since forming in 1992 the band has released ten albums and toured worldwide extens ...

of Japan. In 1999, Drummer Anthony Gonzales resigned and was replaced by Ramon Banda. Founding member of

Faith No More Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before settling on the current name in July 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/r ...

Billy Gould William David Gould (born April 24, 1963 in Los Angeles, California) is an American musician and producer. He is best known as the bassist of Faith No More. Biography Early years Billy said he is of Hungarian descent from his father's side. F ...

, signed the band onto his label,

Koolarrow Records Koolarrow Records is an independent record label based in San Francisco, set up by Faith No More's bass guitarist Billy Gould. Current artists * 7notas, 7colores * Alexander Hacke * Brujeria * Como Asesinar a Felipes * Don Cikuta * Durefor ...

, in 2001. Flattbush opened a show for

Napalm Death Napalm Death are an English grindcore band formed in 1981 in Meriden, West Midlands. None of the band's original members has been in the group since 1986. But since ''Utopia Banished'' (1992), the lineup of bassist Shane Embury, guitarist Mitch ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, England in 2002. In 2002, guitarist Eric Long resigned and was then replaced by guitarist Bradley Walther. Flattbush recorded their Koolarrow Records debut, ''Smash The Octopus'', produced by

Bill Gould William David Gould (born April 24, 1963 in Los Angeles, California) is an American musician and producer. He is best known as the bassist of Faith No More. Biography Early years Billy said he is of Hungarian descent from his father's side. ...

that same year and released in 2003. Following Flattbushs' first tour of the United States in 2003, Ramon Banda resigned and was replaced by drummer Joe Luevano before their second headlining tour of the United States in 2004 and again in 2005. Flattbush maintains a legacy for being one of the most underground and wildest acts in

Grindcore Grindcore is an extreme fusion genre of heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, extreme metal, and industrial. G ...

''Smash the Octopus''

''Smash the Octopus'' was Flattbush's debut release for Koolarrow Records, consisting of 13 tracks recorded and mixed in April 2003 in San Francisco by Billy Gould (Faith No More) and engineered by Mark Pistel (

Meat Beat Manifesto Meat Beat Manifesto, often shortened as Meat Beat, Manifesto or MBM, is an electronic music group originally consisting of Jack Dangers and Jonny Stephens that was formed in 1987 in Swindon, United Kingdom. The band, fronted by Dangers (the only ...

, Consolidated, Spearhead).

''Seize the Time''

Flattbush's second album ''Seize the Time'' was released on September 9, 2006, produced once again by Billy Gould. The band plans to tour the U.S. and abroad.

Politics

Flattbush's lyrical content had mainly focused on

Anti-imperialism Anti-imperialism in political science and international relations is a term used in a variety of contexts, usually by nationalist movements who want to secede from a larger polity (usually in the form of an empire, but also in a multi-ethnic so ...

, exploring politics and current events since 1996. In addition, Flattbush has openly espoused

Marxism Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

and

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

ideals, and glorifying the People's Movement in their website, lyrics, liner notes, and imagery since 2001.

Discography

*''Bowel's Why We're Here'' (1994) *''Bored Again/Born Again'' (1994) *''Disco Death'' (1995) *''Expose/Oppose'' (1997) *''Smash the Octopus'' (2000) *''Kontra 'Tado'' (2001) *''

Smash the Octopus ''Smash The Octopus'', released in 2003 (see 2003 in music), was the first studio album by US rock band Flattbush. Track listing #"Smash The Octopus" (Ramon B. Enriko M. Arman M. Eric L.) #"Better Off Dead" (Enriko M. Eric L.Ramon B. Arman M.) # ...

'' (2003) Koolarrow Records *'' Seize the Time'' (2006) Koolarrow Records *''Otomatik Attak!'' (2010) Koolarrow Records

External links

*
Flattbush interview
at DeafSparrow.com {{Authority control Heavy metal musical groups from California Musical groups established in 1993 1993 establishments in California