There are groups that have become firmly established in popular culture thanks to several tracks. For many, this is the American hardcore punk band Black Flag.
Tracks such as Rise Above and TV Party can be heard in dozens of movies and TV shows around the world. In many ways, it was these hits that brought the Black Flag group out of the underground, making it known to a wide audience of listeners.
Another reason for the group's popularity is the legendary logo, the level of fame with which the musicians of the punk rock band The Misfits can compete.
The creativity of the group of the collective is not limited to several successful compositions. The impact musicians have had on American culture is enormous.
The beginning of the journey of the Black Flag group
In the mid-1970s, hard rock, heavy metal was replaced by punk rock, a wave of popularity that swept the whole world. Punk rockers the Ramones have inspired many young musicians, including Black Flag founder Greg Ginn.
Influenced by the Ramones' music, Greg decided to form his own band, Panic. The composition of the team changed many times, so many local musicians managed to play in the group.
Soon vocalist Keith Morris joined the band. He took a place at the microphone stand for almost three years. This man, who stood at the origins of American hardcore punk, became famous thanks to the Circle Jerks. However, Keith began his career in the Black Flag group, becoming an important part in the history of the group.
Another important part of the early stage was bass player Chuck Dukowski. He became not only part of the musical composition, but also the main press representative of the Black Flag group. Despite the fact that Greg Ginn remained the leader of the team, it was Chuck who gave numerous interviews. He was also involved in tour management.
The role of the drummer went to Roberto "Robo" Valverdo.
glory coming
Despite the fact that the group found its own sound, things were not the best for the first years of the band's existence. The musicians had to play in "taverns", receiving only modest fees for this.
There was not enough money, so there were often creative differences. The conflicts forced Keith Morris to leave the band, to a positive effect.
In place of Keith, the group managed to find a person who became the personification of the group for many years. It's about Henry Rollins. His charisma and stage persona changed American punk rock.
The group found the aggression that it lacked. Henry became the new main vocalist, who replaced several temporary candidates for this position. Des Cadena held this position for several months, retrained as a second guitarist, concentrating on the musical part.
In August 1981, the band's debut album was released, which became a hardcore punk classic. The record was called Damaged and became a sensation in the American underground. The band's music was characterized by aggression that went beyond the classic punk rock of yesteryear.
After the release, the musicians went on their first big tour, which took place both in America and Europe. The popularity of the Black Flag group increased, this allowed the musicians to go beyond the narrowly focused hardcore “party”.
Creative differences within the Black Flag band
Despite the success, the group did not last long in the "golden" composition. During the tour, Robo left the band and was replaced by Chuck Biscuits. Together with him, the group recorded the second full-length album My War, which was very different from the debut collection.
Already here, experiments with sound were noticeable, which were not characteristic of the straightforward hardcore punk of that period. The second half of the album had a doom metal sound that resonated strongly with the first half of the record.
Then Biskits left the team, who also did not find a common language with the rest of the participants. The place behind the drum kit went to the successful musician Bill Stevenson, who played in the punk rock band Descendents.
Another person who fell out with Greg Ginn was Chuck Dukowski, who left the line-up in 1983. All this seriously influenced both concert and studio activities.
The collapse of the Black Flag group
Despite the fact that the group continued to release various compilations and mini-albums, the creative activity of the Black Flag team was declining. The new album Slip It In was released, in which the musicians abandoned the canons of hardcore punk. At the same time, the experimental work Family Man appeared, created in the spoken word genre.
The sound became even more complex, depressing and monotonous, which appealed to Greg's creative ambitions. Only the audience did not share the interests of the leader of the Black Flag group, who played with experiments. In 1985, the album In My Head was released, after which the band unexpectedly broke up.
Conclusion
The Black Flag group is an important part of both the American underground and popular culture. The band's songs appear in Hollywood films to this day. And the famous Black Flag logo is on the T-shirts of famous media personalities - actors, musicians, athletes.
In 2013, the group got together again, releasing the first album in many years, What The… But it is unlikely that the current line-up will be able to reach the heights that were more than 30 years ago.
Vocalist Ron Reyes failed to become a worthy replacement for Rollins. It was Henry Rollins who continued to be the person with whom the group is associated with most listeners. And without his participation, the group has no chance of its former glory.
