Although the peak of Black Flag had come and gone by this point, it didn’t necessarily mean that they were prepared to give up on making good music. On the contrary, their second album release My War (1984) was a new style of music that not only sounded very good but was a welcome change from the Hardcore Punk that they originally were famous for. Due to legal issues preventing the band from releasing music, Black Flag recorded three albums and released all three in 1984. Although the My War album was well received, Family Man was not. In any case, Black Flag were innovators, both in Hardcore Punk and proto-Grunge styles of music. They are technically the music bridge between the likes of the Dead Kennedys and Nirvana. This album should be an interesting listen, given that the band were keen on branching out musically at the time. The album was recorded at Total Access Recording studios in California and was produced by Greg Ginn, Spot and Bill Stevenson. The album itself was released on 1 December 1984. Black Flag were: Henry Rollins (vocals); Greg Ginn (guitars); Kira Roessler (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Bill Stevenson (drums). Let’s take a listen to this important release and we shall hear how it sounds.

1. Slip It In is a six-minute-long piece that begins with some rumbling bass and some spoken word dialogue over Black Flag’s music with a man and a woman discussing sex. It sounds a bit weird to start with, but it quickly launches into a song that sounds really fantastic. This sounds really amazing, punchy, and fantastic. Henry Rollins sings about the desire and need for sexual gratification throughout. A really awesome song, even though today this sort of music will be seen as male Cock Rock Music that has little genuine appeal to it today. Nonetheless, this already sounds much better than very early Black Flag. A really awesome sounding tune, this has power, energy and a Rock-based combination of roaring guitars, pounding drums and screamed vocals. Nonetheless, this is awesome. No doubt that Kurt Cobain was paying close attention to Black Flag early on. In any case, this six-minute-long piece sounds excellent and dramatic throughout. In the second half are wailing guitar solos that borderline shred, before Henry Rollins goes into his pseudo-screaming mode. Nonetheless, this does sound unlike anything else out there. An interesting song for young adults who love either Punk or Metal to enjoy. A really awesome and venomous-sounding song about sex and lust, this is one to keep Christians away from. Towards the end is some recorded dialogue of sexual activity. Deep. A really cool tune to listen to, and something that needs the Parental Advisory Explicit Content sticker on it. Very, very cool. Worth a listen. Sounds great. Interesting to hear.

2. Black Coffee comes straight up with some loud and punchy guitars and pummelling drums to match. This is exactly what one needs to hear in the morning upon waking up. A Grungy sounding assault on the senses. If you enjoy drinking black coffee straight with no milk or sugar in the morning first thing, this energetic song may appeal to you. It sounds absolutely awesome, despite the fact that some may criticise its downtuned guitars and heavy vibe. In fact, this music is a real stroke of genius. It takes everything that made Punk and Metal genres famous and puts it all into an original and awesome context throughout. Henry Rollins screams and sings in an iconic way. To be fair, this is definitely a great record so far. If you listen closely, you can easily hear how wonderful and spirited the musical focus is present on this album. The second half has an interesting guitar solo that sounds absolutely awesome to hear. A really cool and inspired tune to listen to, this music is a really great and punchy listen. It is the musical equivalent of a Punk/Metal punch in your face. The whole band play with energy and ferocity throughout. This never gets ordinary nor dull throughout its nearly five-minute long length. Nonetheless, a winner that needs to be appreciated more over time. A fantastic listen to hear. Worth your ears to listen to from start to finish. A genuinely great song.

3. Wound Up begins with chaotic guitars and pounding drums that match. This is a shorter and more focused piece of music that sounds extremely good to listen to. A wonderfully magical and heavy tune that sounds really awesome. This is music that sounds extremely wonderfully energetic. A good mixture between Black Sabbath and the Sex Pistols, this is definitely awesome and punchy throughout. A brilliant proto-Grunge Music statement to hear, this is absolutely top to hear. Some may not enjoy the discordant nature of this music, but for that, it does sound absolutely brilliant. A great and punchy tune that sounds joyous. There is a kick-butt guitar solo in the second half, which sounds energetic and amazing, and matches the music perfectly. Better than any other Hardcore Punk band at the time (with the possible exception of the Dead Kennedys), Black Flag proved that it is actually okay to change one’s musical style to massive impact. Nonetheless, a really enjoyable and chaotic-sounding listen. Luckily, we are able to hear this release. Great music is present here. Worth your ears.

4. Rat’s Eyes is an interesting song title. It begins with some downtuned guitars that stop/start and launches into a glorious and excellent listen that sounds extremely cool. This has some growling vocals by Henry Rollins, and the whole thing sounds absolutely wicked, devilish and superb throughout. Black Flag, contrary to public sentiment, knew exactly how to make awesome tunes to listen to. This music is extremely suspenseful and theatric in its own way. A cool, evil and clever-sounding song, this is exactly the sort of music that one needs to turn up loud inside the family home to ignore and annoy your brother or sister. The music throughout is unbelievably good and proves that the critics of the time were not recognising the breakthroughs musically by Black Flag. Nonetheless, a really cool and upbeat tune about being a creature of the devil, this music is very dramatic and powerfully awesome. Definitely worth a listen, and better than what people think. Awesome. A great mash-up of Punk and Metal.

5. Obliteration begins with a gong-sounding hit, before launching into another top-notch and fabulously aggressive-sounding tune. It sounds powerful, punchy and awesome throughout, and is yet another worthwhile listen in the Black Flag cannon. This is an instrumental piece, but in any case, it kicks the you-know-what. Surely people like Metallica were paying attention to such releases at this point? It sounds really brilliant to hear. The mixture of sludgy, Grunge-based guitars alongside pounding drums makes this tune an absolute winner and a joy to hear. Although this goes on for nearly six minutes and doesn’t have vocals, it still sounds awesomely fresh and amazing to this very day. A powerful and sweet listening experience, this music has a definite and different musical edge to it. The guitar solos in the midsection also sound exploration and different, especially considering the fact that these guys are often pigeonholed in as a Punk band. Sure, Punk Music was their roots, but aside from that, this is a forward-thinking and cross-genre listen that will take many by surprise. An awesomely discordant guitar solo is present on this album, and the music throughout is an absolute winner. Seriously awesome and cool to listen to, this music is completely different to anything else, before or since. Black Flag were The Velvet Underground of Hardcore Punk Music, and from start to finish, this is very clearly the case. Awesome and brilliant, it falls apart at the end in a brilliant way. Wonderful. A great instrumental.

6. The Bars begins with some rumbling Fender bass guitar, and excellent drumming quickly joins in the mix. Discordant guitars follow, and this piece genuinely comes alive. Henry Rollins sings in an abrasive and aggressive way, and he sings about sexual lust and similar ongoings throughout this song. A really cool and excellently intelligent and brilliant song, Black Flag still had some supercharged and brilliant music in them, years after being formed. In any case, the music and lyrics perfectly match each other, alongside the borderline screaming and melodic singing. This is just as good as the famous and classic Nirvana albums Nevermind (1991) and In Utero (1993), which both owe a lot to this album. Henry Rollins sounds like a manic psychotic throughout and probably needs some good-quality drugs and alcohol to calm him down. The guitar solo is like a pseudo-shred Tony Iommi and sounds absolutely awesome. A really sweet and aggressive tune to listen to, this music is much more impressive than what one would expect. Great, all the same. Works a treat. It sounds energetic as heck. It finishes up with sustained guitars to conclude with.

7. My Ghetto is a shorter piece at only two minutes long. It begins with ear-piercing guitar feedback and some weird overdubbed vocals in the background. Soon enough, this launches into an audio equivalent of a punch-in-the-face. Henry Rollins exudes anger and energy, and this music is another solidly good listen, even for this length of time. Great, in many, many ways. A short and sharply punchy song with loads of discordant guitars to match. This eventually falls apart again at the end, sounding really dramatic. Good to hear. A nice listen.

8. You’re Not Evil is a seven-minute-long album concluding piece of music. It launches quickly into it with loud guitars and pounding drums. Henry Rollins sings well on this tune, and once again, this song is another solidly proto-Grunge listen. If you need to look back in history to point out the formation of bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden or the Smashing Pumpkins, this is straight up a good place to observe. This does not sound like music that was popular at the time (e.g. Michael Jackson, Prince or Madonna). Instead, it sounds like the future of music. Nonetheless, this song is really good and will make you want to hear every second of it all. There are some dramatic Punk/Metal Music fills throughout that sound pretty cool. There are also some interesting multitracked vocals near the midsection which also sound pretty cool. A really driven and exciting music-listening experience. Henry Rollins sings well here, and Black Flag is proven to be a band that sounds like a music punch-in-your-face. This has a multitude of interesting sections musically that sound varied and intelligent. Punk Music often gets rejected by many for being just noise-based music that doesn’t sound appealing. Black Flag were present to prove the contrary musically. This does sound mindblowing and fantastic throughout. The second half of the song has some awesome and dramatic guitar soloing that will blow your mind apart, although the discordant shredding will not appeal to everyone out there. A tempo and structure change occurs in the verses and chorus that returns. The mixture of loud, noisy guitars with pounding drums and screamed vocals sounds really fantastic to hear. In any case, this album is a legendary listen, much more than you would initially think. A punchy, direct and awesome listen, Black Flag gladly pull off a sensational performance on this song. It begins to wrap up with screamed and nicely mixed vocals over wailing guitars and powerful drumming. A good song to listen to that sounds extremely cool. Very much worth a listen, never dull nor boring throughout its seven-minute long running time.

In short, this is one of the most underrated and most listenable albums that you can hear today. It may have been recorded way back in the early 1980s, but Slip It In is a glimpse into the future of USA-based Alternative Rock Music. There is no doubt that this album has been massively influential over time, and one can definitely hear a lot of Nirvana in this album, years before Nirvana even released their debut album Bleach in 1989. Therefore, unlike what most critics at the time thought, this is a genuine classic album. Should you listen to this album? If you even have just a passing interest in Punk, Metal or Grunge, do go and listen to this now. Fans of polished Pop Music will hate this release, however.

An excellent album ahead of its time.

9/10