The ultimate soundtrack for a full-scale riot - Black Flag's "My War".

 

 

There was much anticipation as to how the infamous Black Flag would follow up their debut record. Alongside the rapidly developing hardcore scene, “Damaged” proved to be the ultimate concoction which, through its mutual angst and frustration, unified local and foreign masses. Purists that had accustomed themselves to the brutally one-dimensional hardcore punk, would grow a fondness, religiously attending Black Flag gigs and refusing anything that was unfit for mindless violence.

Yet as Black Flag’s guitarist and originator Greg Ginn sunk deeper into his heavy metal influences, the band’s coroner sophomore would slam all stereotypes on the autopsy table and dissect them carefully. What followed was a dangerous display of sludgy riffs, experimental spoken word passages and the permanent maiming of punk rock. Increasingly vicious fan attacks on Black Flag alongside a nasty law case did not discourage the new sound and critics, though polarized, took an instant liking to what the flannel wearing Californians produced back at the SST helm. 

 

And so on the warm march of  the year 1984, Black Flag’s second album “My War” saw the light of day. With a curiously Black Sabbath inspired B-side, the record would become a staple for the sludge metal and grunge movements in the upcoming years. “It was that kind of music. Greg and Chuck had created the ultimate soundtrack for a full-scale riot.” Wrote Rollins, the band’s vocalist at the time, “This era of the band was like nothing before or since. No band made people react like that. I had seen the Circle Jerks make some people lose their shit, but not like the Flag.” (Source: Get In The Van, 1994)

The self-titled opener “My War” carefully stalks like a venomous snake. Starting off with a thirty second instrumental, Ginn’s lead guitar revs up in a kind of uninhibited clearness, the bass and percussion rattling in the background, eventually exploding in a cacophony of sounds. At that particular time, Black Flag lacked a real bassist and so Ginn was forced to take up an additional instrument. This exact intentional sluggishness would become a defining characteristic in the Flag’s later years. Rock journalist Michael Azerrad reflects:

“Ginn took on bass duties under the pseudonym "Dale Nixon" and practiced the new material with Stevenson up to eight hours a day, teaching the drummer to slow down and let the rhythm "ooze out" at a pace Stevenson was unused to.” (Source: Our Band Could Be Your Life, 2001)

 

The instrumental chaos becomes an almost palpable wall for Rollins to lean on, bellowing away the typical Black Flag mantra of “us versus them”. The band would revisit this nihilistic sense of betrayal and territorialism on the following, evidently more straight-forward punk tracks such as “Beat My Head Against The Wall” and “I Love You”. The vivid imagery of knives and their casual jabs at suburban glory runs rampant.

“Suspicion rules my very soul/ My knife is sharp/ My thoughts are cold”
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“Run through the door to the liquor store/ The doors are closed/ The tension grows.”

The hectic, bass driven “Swinging Man” even manages to take up some noise rock influences and experimental rhythm sections. Where “My War” was a treacherous and stealthy serpent, “Swinging Man” is a cold-blooded predator that impatiently strikes with sheer impudence and menace. 

Lastly, the dreaded B-side containing three six minute tracks, “Nothing Left Inside”, “Three Nights” and most importantly - “Scream”. By 1984 Henry Rollins had already started his additional work outside of Black Flag. Spoken gigs and book writing was proving to be a greatly important stepping stone for the young artist. Ginn was rarely shy to let Rollins engage in his vibrant storytelling and often enabled him to incorporate what went down in his head in long-winded spoken word passages on Black Flag records. Rollins’ brooding distaste for the world, therefore, fit wonderfully to the slow-burning and premeditated annihilation of the B-side experience. Lazy whiplashes of distorted guitars on the three tracks sound like a dangerous precursor to Doom Metal. 

 

The lack of motion, here, works entirely to the album’s favour. No fiascos or explosive chorus sections, the B-side is a malnourished wasteland of progressive soundscapes. Twisted and contorted, it breaks down in impressive guitar solos that come through straight out of a musty vacuum. Rollins, in the meanwhile, manages to turn the knives he had previously pointed at others, on himself. It’s important to notice that the dark lyricism on the track “Three Nights” for example, is a painful contextualization of Rollins’ mind state at the time. Periods of self harm and suicidal thoughts seem like a depressing backdrop to the sharp realism of the lyrics being sung. The vocal delivery is especially keen on the B-side, verging on the brink of crushing desperation. 

The last song on the album “Scream” came to be when during one of their very many live shows, the band’s sound equipment broke down and Rollins was forced to yell at the top of his lungs without any amplification. Lyrics were then written and the sludgy metal anthem became an improvised display of Black Flag’s dedication. 

“I might be a big baby

But I'll scream in your ear

'Til I find out, until I find out

Just what it is I am doing here

Until then, until then

Until then, until then…”

The full-scale riot of My War, perhaps echoed in a way unintended. As mentioned before, many fans of “Damaged” outright refused to accept the developing sound of punk, opting instead to focus on the kind of pencil tapping tempo that other hardcore bands introduced. It took a while but even as countless detractors barked away through their dog kernel bars, it was painfully apparent that independent hardcore punk was but a medium towards something better. A transistor of culture that displayed how important change is.

 

As Black Flag initiated their curtain call, the legacy of My War became a Babel tower of sorts, inspiring many different musicians and influencing them to climb out of their moulds even when their closest supporters dismissed them.“Fugazi's” Ian MacKaye believed that “punk is ever-changing” yet change meant swimming against the tide and more often than not, innovation is inevitable.