From the opening riffs of вЂRise AboveвЂ™ to that five minutes of mayhem of вЂThirsty & MiserableвЂ™ into вЂPolice StoryвЂ™ to side-two drones such as вЂDamaged IIвЂ™, вЂRoom 13вЂ™ and вЂPadded CellвЂ™, Damaged came to define the future of punk, hardcore, alt, grunge, thrash, doom, stoner and whatnot. Edward ColverвЂ™s cover photo of Henry Rollins punching a pane of glass aptly depicted the sounds between the grooves. Perhaps no album jacket better defined its inner content. вЂLouie LouieвЂ™ (b/w вЂDamaged 1вЂ™) and the Ron Reyes take on вЂNo ValuesвЂ™ for the 1981 Rodney on the ROQ comp -В both for Robbie FieldsвЂ™ prolific Posh Boy label - were Black FlagвЂ™s only recordings not on SST. The band always performed that song last because, like ritual, everyone in the crowd knew that was the time to step up and wreck the stage. Yes, the Richard Berry-Kingsmen classic deconstructed, by the great Dez Cadena, with lines like, You know the pain thatвЂ™s in my heart / It just shows IвЂ™m not very smart. And donвЂ™t forget the two B-side standouts: вЂIвЂ™ve Heard It BeforeвЂ™ and вЂAmerican WasteвЂ™. In this ode to alcohol later cut by Rollins, the song doesnвЂ™t end with HankвЂ™s straight-ish line, What do they know about partying or anything else? DezвЂ™s original stammered: Fuck it, make it a case! Nuff said. And what the gangly 20-something lacked in muscle, he more than made up for with moxie. NJ-bred son of famed Savoy label jazz producer Ozzie Cadena, was the bandвЂ™s frontman before Rollins.

The EPвЂ™s five-songs-in-six-minutes became the core of the bandвЂ™s live shows: вЂJealous AgainвЂ™, вЂRevengeвЂ™, вЂWhite MinorityвЂ™, вЂNo ValuesвЂ™ and вЂYou Bet WeвЂ™ve Got Something Personal Against You!вЂ™ Easily their ridiculously overrated producer SpotвЂ™s most to-the-point recording.Дez Cadena, the Newark. In many ways, he was the original face of Black Flag, as Penelope SpheerisвЂ™ cult film came out during the pre-MTV rock-video era. Ron Reyes was Black FlagвЂ™s second singer, briefly during their The Decline of Western Civilization period. But donвЂ™t feel bad: Morris made his mark as the lead vocalist of the seminal American Hardcore band Circle Jerks, and most recently in the group Off! Things did not pan out in Black Flag for original singer Keith Morris, a proto-hesher whose dad ran a rod-and-reel shop on the Hermosa Pier (Flag members later derided him as вЂњJohnny Bob GoldsteinвЂќ). The bandвЂ™s debut four-song single - вЂNervous BreakdownвЂ™, вЂFix MeвЂ™, вЂIвЂ™ve Had ItвЂ™ and вЂWastedвЂ™ -В personified suburban boredom and misplaced aggression. Listen to the complete playlist below and scroll down to check out the records individually. Here are ten of their records that have stood the test of time. Having seen them perform over 20 times, this writer can attest to most of their musical greatness. Not all Black FlagвЂ™s recordings stand up to todayвЂ™s definition of lo/hi fidelity. They came to loath the new conformist subculture of raging thrash skinheads they helped to create, and defiantly rebelled by growing their hair and playing long jams like their heroes Black Sabbath and the Grateful Dead. Their label SST Records - launching not just Flag but Minutemen, HГјsker DГј, Meat Puppets, and Sonic Youth - set the mold for every indie rock label since.Д«lack Flag was as prolific as it was short-lived - this supernovaвЂ™s final crash-and-burn coming in the summer of 1986. The bandвЂ™s early вЂ™80s tours created the American hardcore movement. The first full-fledged DIY punk group did not come from New York City or glitzy Hollywood, but from the sterile LA suburbs of Hermosa Beach, CA.

Steven Blush, author of American Hardcore: A Tribal History, explains how the band captured the nihilistic spirit of American teens in 10 essential records.Д«lack Flag was the most important underground American rock band of the late 20th Century. What the Ramones and Sex Pistols were to punk, Black Flag was to hardcore.

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