Haunted ink bottle

There are quite a few people out there that think Black Flag went sour after “Damaged”. It’s true that Black Flag became a cheesy metal band towards the end, but it didn’t start with “My War”. The descent into metal cheese started when they started releasing albums with chicks on the cover.”My War” is a punk/metal crossover masterpiece. At the time it was released there was nothing like it. There are not many punk albums that reach the depths of darkness like this album did.

“My War” was not released for a long time because of a legal battle that barred Black Flag from releasing any new albums after “Damaged”. The frustration and anger of being held down by a large corporation and stopped from recording comes to a head on this album.The cover of “My War”, which is one of the all time greatest covers in history, is a pretty good preview of what’s on the album. Musically, the smiling man represents the first half and the knife represents the second half. The vocal theme through out the whole album is pain. This album was one of the first times Henry Rollins was free to write his own lyrics and he came out swinging. Rollins puts more emotion into singing than any other vocalist in hardcore. The title track, “My War” is just brutal on all levels combining a pop structured tune and lacing it with screaming. The next four songs are very catchy, sarcastic songs that have some classic lines. “Swimming in the mainstream is such a lame dream. No method to the madness,” sings Rollins on “Beat My Head Against The Wall”.The most impressive part starts with “Nothing Left Inside”, a dark musical description of depression with a slow driving riff. “Three Nights” is probably Rollins’ best vocal performance of his life that is the very definition of pain. “Scream” is an angry closing that almost leaves with a glimmer of hope- salvation through anger.The doom metal bands of today have learned a lesson or two from “My War”, but have never been able to top it. This alb
My War

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