by Allison Fischer
Have you ever listened to a song and thought, “This is too hardcore or heavy for me”? Well that’s Black Flag’s whole deal. Based out of Hermosa Beach, Black Flag paved the way for many hardcore punk bands including Sonic Youth, Slayer, and the entire Seattle grunge scene. Black Flag was very influential on the Los Angeles hardcore punk scene because of how they made their own sound, how they inspired people with that sound, and how they themselves changed over time.
Black Flag experimented with a lot of different sounds throughout their first few albums, with genres ranging from punk to math rock, to even some forms of metal. With the band’s debut four song single, titled “Nervous Breakdown” officially releasing in 1979, the band started to find its reliable players and signature sound. The lead singer at the time was Keith Morris, who later left the band due to creative differences with guitarist Greg Ginn, and then went off to be a part of many popular bands, such as The Circle Jerks, Off!, and an off-shoot of Black Flag called FLAG. In their first studio album titled “Damaged”, With new lead singer Henry Rollins, they had a very unique sound consisting of distorted guitars, unique baselines, loud vocals, and very, very heavy drums. On the album cover, Henry Rollins is pictured breaking a glass mirror with his fist. This album cover perfectly encapsulates the title of the album, as well as the bands reputation, demeanor, and style of music. In their second album, called “My War” the fans were really polarized by the sound of the B-side of the album, consisting of a slower tempo, heavier, more sludge-like sound often thought of as difficult to accept to Orthodox punks. This really demonstrates the effects and influences of bands like Black Flag and how much they can affect and inspire people to start their own bands.
A few bands like Sonic Youth, Melvins, and even Bands like Slayer and the entire Seattle grunge scene were all very heavily influenced by Black Flag. The fact that so many bands across several different genres were inspired by the punk band that supposedly “sold out” by making slower and more metal-esque music really shows how influential a singular band can be. Take The Beatles for example, they single-handedly made the entire genre of rock and roll ready for someone to make it heavier and louder. Black Flag, among many others, did just that. The way that people may think bands like The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, or Van Halen are to rock and roll, Black Flag is to hardcore punk. Many Bands grow and change their sound over time, however some band members change entirely.
When Henry Rollins first moved to Los Angeles in 1981, he was hassled by police after they realized he was a member of Black Flag. According to Rollins, “That really scared me. It freaked me out that an adult would do that. … My little eyes were opened big time”(Azerrad). Rollins’ stage persona would start to alienate him from the rest of the band, especially when the audience would get violent with himself and other members of the band. When Black Flag started to tour in England, a member of the audience attacked lead guitarist Greg Ginn. In response to this, Rollins assaulted the audience member. After the show, Greg scolded Rollins, calling him things like “a macho asshole” (Azerrad). This would continue on throughout Rollins’ time in the band. In 1984, the band’s members would grow out their hair to confuse the audience, as well as change their own musical style to become more progressive.
Black Flag, as controversial as they would become, shaped the hardcore punk scene in Los angeles to become what it is today, as well as inspire the creativity of several bands across several genres. The way they made their own sound throughout the world, inspired several bands outside of punk, and how they changed that sound of theirs for the sake of creativity shows just how important they are. Black Flag is an extraordinarily interesting band, despite being short lived. Punk inspired so many people outside of itself, that it could be considered by some to be outside the genre of rock entirely. Music truly is an amazing form of art, despite some genres being hard on the ears, it will always be around in some form or another.
Works Cited
Azerrad, Michael. Our Band Could Be Your Life. Back Bay Books 2002
Ediriwira, Amar “An introduction to Black Flag, the band that defined American hardcore”. The
Vinyl Factory. https://thevinylfactory.com/features/the-essential-black-flag Links to an external site.. March 8, 2016.
“Keith Morris”. Wikipedia, Wikimedia foundation, November 7, 2022,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Morris#Black_Flag Links to an external site..
“My War” Wikipedia, Wikimedia foundation, October 5, 2022,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_War Links to an external site.
“Nervous Breakdown (EP)”. Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, April 20, 2022,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nervous_Breakdown_(EP) Links to an external site..
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