Black Flag: My War Vinyl LP
$25.95
<p><i>After a lengthy battle with their original label Black Flag returned with 1984's My War.</i> The band had absorbed a wide range of influences since their first full length, <a href="http://turntablelab.com/products/black-flag-damaged-vinyl-lp" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><i>Damaged</i></a>. The doom metal of <strong>Saint Vitus</strong> (who released via SST) and the more experimental hardcore of <a href="http://turntablelab.com/search?q=Flipper" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Flipper</strong></a>, <strong>Void</strong>, and <strong>Fang</strong> are all present on <i>My War</i>. They took in early influences as well, turning to <a href="http://turntablelab.com/search?q=Black+Sabbath" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Black Sabbath</strong></a>, the <a href="http://turntablelab.com/search?q=MC5" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>MC5</strong></a>, and the <a href="http://turntablelab.com/search?q=Stooges" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Stooges</strong></a> for new approaches to their own music. The resulting music was march darker than the humor filled anthems of <i>Damaged</i>. The snot nosed punk approach of early recordings was done away with in favor of a new focus on gloom, depression, defeatism, and aggression. The first half of the record contains the high-powered hardcore punk that the band had become known for. It closes with the freak out of "The Swinging Man" but leaves no clue as to what is to come on the B side. "Nothing Left Inside" reveals the sludge metal sound that the band had been exploring. It's a fitting introduction to the three tracks that make up the second half of the album. There is plenty of self hate wallowing in the slower tempos and extended takes. Needless to say, <i>My War</i> was a polarizing album for Black Flag fans. While many of their hardcore punk followers would deride the second half of the album it would go on to influence a world of bands including the <a href="http://turntablelab.com/search?q=Melvins" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Melvins</strong></a>, <strong>Mudhoney</strong>, and <a href="http://turntablelab.com/search?q=Nirvana" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Nirvana</strong></a>.</p> <ul> <li>black vinyl pressing</li> <li>music label: SST 1984</li> </ul> <h6>reviewed by ninetwofour 06/0215</h6>