Black Flag

Henry Rollins makes his snarling, lo-fi appearance! You know how I said I love lo-fi? This is TOO lo-fi. While the instrumental work is not bad (listen to "Rise Above" if you don't believe me) since guitarist Greg Ginn has yet to become a lazy pothead, often I have absolutely no clue what is being said. Rollins sounds like a pissed off teenager at this stage, even though he'd eventually get a cool, deep voice. But the one advantage Rollins has is that he sounds like he belongs. Everything is just mindless thrashing, and Rollins' psychotic screaming fits perfectly in with rants about depression and violence. And that's the epitome of Black Flag. They weren't content to copy the Ramones their entire career, that's for sure.

Rollins is best for adding that level of sarcastic humour, on songs like "Six Pack" and "TV Party," that his precursors could never quite pull off. You might consider this record bland and generic when you first put it in - I know I made that mistake. But that's because every kid in a garage hardcore band today wants to be Damaged-era Black Flag! This is the beginning of good ol' fashioned no-apologies punk rock anger, with no lyrical or instrumental frills. While it isn't as refined as later Black Flag records, if you're tired of pretentious love songs, this is what you need. This record will take you right back to punk rock basics.

Everything on this album is simple and aggressive, and that's the way it should be. It's stripped down as far as it'll go, with that great low-fi groove to boot. Early Black Flag knows how to make me happy, that's for sure. Every song is a great punk rock 'n' roller, and although the abrupt change in vocalist from track to track might distract you, it's worth it if you want to see when Black Flag wasn't some sort of six minute ballad-writing outfit for people with better attention spans than me. You can even hear when they abruptly change from Ramones-copying to the classic LA hardcore sound. Nice.

But Rollins is actually developing his vocals, instead of trying to sound "punk!" He's finally bringing out his cool deep voice, instead of being a brat on speed like in Damaged. Unfortunately, the entire album is just so slow. It's like wading through a swamp of syrup. It starts out cool and fun, but by the end, you just want to get the hell out. Some people like sludgy-sounding pseudo-metal, but I don't. There are some good melodies, like on "Can't Decide" or "The Swinging Man," but overall, they're overshadowed by the vast attention span you need to listen to the entire thing in one go. Damn Greg Ginn and his Black Sabbath obsession.

Yes, some of the songs do drag on for five minutes when they should've been three minutes. But overall, it's barely noticeable. The only time it's really troublesome is on the last track, "You're Not Evil." That song would've been way better if it had just been shortened. The woman screaming in the most annoying way ever during that song is really distracting, as well. And yeah, the girl moaning during "Slip It In" starts out funny, but by the end, is just cheesy. Overall though, this is a criminally underrated album. I wouldn't recommend this as the first Black Flag album you should listen to, as it might be a little long if you're not used to the band, but if you're a fan, you should really own this album. Now go, do my bidding.

Henry Rollins is in top form, alternately delivering metal vocals that aren't shoddy and screaming like he's on Damaged all over again. This is Black Flag's non-sucking metal. It's everything My War should've been. Very few songs drag and make you want to kill yourself, like on other albums. Hey, I don't even do drugs and I still think this is an amazing CD, so if you do drugs...you will like Black Flag? Or maybe just laugh endlessly, I don't know. This is probably where new fans should start - I found this to be the easiest CD to get into, regardless of its' drug-enduced quirks.

The title is ironic, because this is something that should've been weeded out. It's all experimental instrumental, (say that aloud, it sounds cool) and as if that doesn't sound pathetic enough, consider that Black Flag could barely play their instruments in the first place. It's another pointless release by Greg Ginn. Four songs in 27 minutes? Kill me now. There's a reason no one buys this EP.

The biggest downside is that Rollins is turned way down in the mix. It sounds like it was recorded in a sewer or something. This is really distracting when you're trying to get into the songs. The album also starts out really shoddy, even though it gets much better. I mean, "The Crazy Girl" is just horrible. But overall, it's an awesome CD. It's just too bad this is Black Flag's last record. They were finally getting it together and moving away from 7 minute experimental jams.