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Flattbush Launch Their "Strategic Offensive"

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There was a time in America when shaggy-haired dudes playing acoustic guitars and mumbling about some vague revolution was considered politically meaningful. Thankfully, punk, hardcore, and grindcore happened — styles of music which allowed bands to match urgent political messages with equally urgent music. It’s hard to think of a band since Napalm Death that has done that as well as Southern California’s Flattbush (Ok, Cloud Rat has, too.).

Flattbush’s new album Strategic Offensive is an assault of dense grind, springing between time signatures and rhythms like a crazed Battletoad. In the eye of that storm, vocalist Enriko Maniago rails against the colonizer’s proclivity to enact violence upon vulnerable populations. The lyrics of songs like “Bulok Na Sistema” (Bullock System), “US Troops Out Now!,” and “Stop Lumad Killings” are linguistic bullets that never deviate from their target. This attack is made all the more vicious through Ramon Banda’s precise blasts and fills, Bradley Walther’s baby-alien-in-the-stomach guitar licks, and Arman Maniago’s neck-snapping bass work.

Strategic Offensive finds Flattbush channeling Rage Against the Machine’s anti-colonialist sentiment through The Locust’s antagonistic mathcore to make for one of the fiercest records in recent memory.

Flattbush will self-release Strategic Offensive on March 29th. Follow Flattbush on Facebook.

Upcoming show:

March 29th — Long Beach — Alex’s Bar w/ Retox, Bad Acid Trip, and Fetus EatersFacebook Event

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