Flattus Maximus is a guitarist in the heavy metal band GWAR. He is known by his red face, white dreadlocks, dinosaur-head shoulder pads and reptile feet. The name "Flattus" implies (verified by various concerts) a flatulent character. His speaking mannerisms suggest a childlike intelligence and naivety (until recently; his entries in the current website's blog depict a different, more violent Flattus). GWAR is a satirical thrash metal/punk band formed in 1985-1986 by a group of artists and musicians at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. ...

The first man to portray the "armored clown" (taken from the pre-2005 web bio) was Dewey Rowell, who played on Hell-O and Scumdogs of the Universe. He left the band shortly after the "Tour De Scum" tape, and before "America Must Be Destroyed", GWAR's third album, was recorded. Until mid-1992, after GWAR's now-(in)famous "Phallus In Wonderland" was released, there was no Flattus Maximus character. "America Must Be Destroyed" had all of its guitar parts (save three solos) played by Balsac the Jaws of Death. When playing those songs live today, in particular "The Road Behind" (that album's big single), it is typically Balsac, not Flattus, who plays the lead. Hell-O is the first album released by novelty rock/heavy metal/punk band Gwar. ... BalSac: The Jaws of Death playing live BalSac: The Jaws of Death is a character in the rock band GWAR. He appears as a humanoid creature with a face resembling a bear-trap. ...

For the filming of "Phallus in Wonderland," a sculptor friend of the band, who goes by the name of "Stretch," played Flattus in the few scenes in which he was featured (the video for "Gor-Gor" features Stretch falling off of a building, and he plays piano in "Have You Seen Me?").

After a mini-tour in early 1992, Peter Lee was hired, at the recommendation of Ministry guitarist Mike Scaccia, as the new guitarist (Scaccia had turned them down to continue working with Ministry - Scaccia and Lee were both in a band together, along with future GWAR bassist Casey Orr; it was Lee who enlisted Orr in 1994). He first played on This Toilet Earth. In 1993, Lee was shot in an attempted carjacking, and was unable to film much of "Skulhedface" due to injuries to his stomach. He did manage to film a commercial segment with Dave Brockie, where Lee first suggested the idea of police officers (both were dressed as policemen) playing rock music. This joke turned into GWAR's first true spin-off band, X-Cops. One music video from that period, "Jack The World," features Lee as Flattus, and he is seen wearing a colostomy bag, which he also wore during a brief tour in October of 1993. Lee played on the next two albums, RagNaRok and "Carnival of Chaos," and was in the films from that time frame (1995-late 1997), "Rendezvous With RagNaRok" and "Dawn of the Day of the Night of the Penguins." In the interview segments of "Rendezvous...," Flattus is seen more than any other character (the others were a paranormal investigator played by Bob Gorman, Beefcake the Mighty, Balsac the Jaws of Death and Techno Destructo), and it is here where the childlike mannerisms truly surface. Lee left in December 1997, due to his recurring stomach problems stemming from the carjacking. His leaving of GWAR also forced the dissolution of the X-Cops. The term ministry can refer to the following: A ministry is a department of a government. ... This Toilet Earth is the fourth album released by novelty rock/heavy metal/punk band Gwar. ... X-Cops is a side project comprised of members from the band GWAR and their extended family of musicians. ... Look up Ragnarok in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A cartoon drawing of Beefcake the Mighty Beefcake the Mighty is a character in the rock band GWAR. He appears a stout (hence his name) humanoid girded in Roman-style armor. ... BalSac: The Jaws of Death playing live BalSac: The Jaws of Death is a character in the rock band GWAR. He appears as a humanoid creature with a face resembling a bear-trap. ...

In 1998, there again was no Flattus for some time. When GWAR's 1998 Halloween tour came around, Michael Bishop, who was filling in for Casey Orr as Beefcake, suggested Tim Harriss (who had previously played one GWAR show twelve years prior) of his band Kepone. Harriss would remain the Flattus character through the recording of "We Kill Everything."

In 1999, after Orr returned, and before "We Kill Everything" was released, GWAR auditioned several guitarists for the role of Flattus Maximus. Zach Blair won the part, and became the reptilian cro-mag guitarist. He is seen in the film "It's Sleazy," and the music video for "Fuckin' An Animal," the last song on "We Kill Everything." In 2001, GWAR, with Blair on guitar, recorded "Violence Has Arrived," from which one music video, the concert favorite "Immortal Corrupter," was recorded. This would be Blair's last video with GWAR, and he, along with Casey Orr, left after the Blood Drive 2nd Campaign Tour (the second tour for "Violence Has Arrived."

In September of 2002, a new Flattus was needed, and Corey Smoot, who had previously auditioned in 1999, was recruited. Smoot, being an talented producer, lent his technical skills to the recording of GWAR's most recent studio album, 2004's "War Party." Smoot's guitar style is very much technical metal, but he has proven capable of changing styles flawlessly when needed.

As GWAR evolves from album to album, so must their characters. Flattus began life with a helmet with large horns, dinosaur-skull shoulder pads, a painted red face and long dreadlocks. The second incarnation did away with the helmet, and the shoulder pads were enlarged. By "RagNaRok," the shoulder pads were brown dinosaur heads instead of skulls, and he had a tail and loincloth (all scaly and brown). His face was still red, but was a mask, and his dreadlocks were shorter and stuck out like a palm tree. This would be the design for Flattus until Peter Lee left the band. "We Kill Everything" has a photo of Flattus (presumably Michael Derks in said costume), and he is more or less the same, minus the tail and is taller. Blair's Flattus is the most drastic change: the shoulder pads became green (with some exposed bone and muscle, but mostly scale), the tail reappears (for the "WKE" photo shoot, Derks did not wear it), and, like the feet, shoulder pads and loincloth, is green and scaly. The face is less comical, and more like a bulldog (still red, though). The dreadlocks are white, and at their shortest. Finally, Smoot's changes to the costume were mostly in the face and hair. The face is larger and more distorted, and the dreadlocks are white and black, and are combed back. They are also considerably longer than before. The tail is gone. The shoulderpads are a bit larger, probably because Smoot is larger himself.

Like Balsac, Flattus uses ESP Guitars and Mesa Boogie amplifiers. Unlike Balsac, Flattus has never sung lead on any GWAR song (Balsac sang on "Mary Anne"). The ESP Guitar Company (Electric Sound Products), located in North Hollywood, California, is a prominent manufacturer of electric guitars and basses. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...