Biography of Black Flag

Following the footsteps of California punks like The Germs and the Avengers, Greg Ginn and Black Flag took a look around their sun-drenched hometown and got pissed -- pissed about the suntans, pissed about suburban decadence, pissed for the sake of being pissed. They released a few decent singles and an EP on Ginn's SST label and, in 1981, released an album (Damaged) that channeled their aggression and hostility through a molten mix of cranky guitars and Henry Rollins's manic vocals. On "Rise Above" and "Six Pack," Rollins expressed the nihilism, cynicism, and outrage of Cali youths better than any of his hardcore peers (and with more humor, as well). The group made the fatal mistake of sticking around too long, though, and after influencing hundreds of similarly disillusioned minds -- and forging a career that evolved into self-parody -- the group called it quits in 1987. ~ John Floyd