Posted on: December 7, 2009 Posted by: anfnewsacct Comments: 0

Flattbush starts out their “Seize The Time” in a way that reminds me a lot of a blend of To My Surprise, Buckethead, Fear Factory, and early Korn. The use of double bass drums and shrill guitars is something that hits listeners throughout “Serve The People”, and while the track may only be two minutes long, the band feels as if they have been playing for four or five minutes. This means that the band needs to continually come up with interesting compositions to keep individuals listening, but will they be able to get different styles fleshed out?

The one thing that immediately presents itself to be a problem with Flattbush has to be the incongruities shown between the members of the bands. Tracks like “Multiple Deportation” have each member of the band going at their fastest, a gambit that seems not to work out as the band members each have slightly different timing.

What could have been interesting layers turns into a somewhat dissonance-laden track. The band’s first real hit comes in “Lupa”, a track that uses a back and forth vocal style that will remind individuals of a number of crust acts; this addition of a different style keeps things interesting and actually allows the band to chalk up their first success on “Seize The Time”. Flattbush can bring the fury, there is no debating that. Having the dual vocalists in a number of tracks is exactly what the band needs to do, as it provides the band with a crusty sound that matches the political imagery that is present throughout all the disc’s packaging. There are a number of interesting tracks, such as “Prison and Beyond”, but the band does not approach many of their tracks with a fully-hatched plan on how to properly create a compelling track. Perhaps the best track on “Seize The Time” has to be “Hamlet”, another one of Flattbush’s short tracks. In “Hamlet”, the dual vocals occur, with a properly old-sounding hardcore meets metal approach that starts to improve their station. The band seems to dial in their sound better for the second half of the disc, especially during tracks like “Bakit” .I have no doubt that their next album will be much more tight and cohesive; Flattbush can come forth with an album that could rival anything that has been put out on Prank or Profane Existence, if they just put their mind to it.

Top Tracks: Awit Ng Pag-Asa, Lupa

Rating: 5.8/10

Flattbush – Seize The Time! / 2006 Koolarrow / 15 Tracks / http://www.flattbush.com / http://www.koolarrow.com / Reviewed 27 August 2006

[JMcQ]

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