Home > Black Flag (band)
The hardcore punk rock band Black Flag was formed in 1976 in southern California, largely as the brainchild of Greg Ginn, guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes.
Black Flag forged a unique sound early on that mixed the raw simplicity of The Ramones with atonal guitar solos and frequent tempo shifts. Over this could be heard lyrics—mostly written by Ginn—about isolation, neurosis and paranoia, themes which did not disappear when Henry Rollins took on the role of lead singer in 1981. Most of the band's material was released on Ginn's independent label, SST Records.
The band was a seminal influence on different trends in punk rock, from hardcore punk to death metal, and even pioneered the underground capitalism of do-it-yourself record labels that flourished among the 1980s' punk rock bands.
Over the course of the 1980s, Black Flag's sound, as well as their notoriety, evolved in ways that alienated much of their early punk audience. They grew their hair long (which lead to charges of Black Flag being " hippies") and played longer, slower, and more complex songs at a time when many bands in their milieu stuck to a raw, fast, three-chord format.
They were among the earliest punk rock groups to incorporate elements of heavy metal in their songs; Black SabbathThis article is about the British heavy metal band. For the 1946 British arrests of Jewish paramilitaries, see Operation Agatha. For the 1963 film see Black Sabbath (movie Black Sabbath sometimes simply called Sabbath is a British heavy metal band origina's records were favorites of many Black Flag members. Black Flag recorded an instrumental rockFrom its earliest days, rock and roll emphasized catchy melodies, which were usually presented with easily remembered lyrics. That wasn't always the case, however, and if the melodies were strong enough, rock and roll instrumentals could catch on and beco e.p. that earned favorable comparisons to Mahavishnu OrchestraThe Mahavishnu Orchestra is an epic jazz-rock fusion group that debuted in 1971 and dissolved in 1976. The band was led by "Mahavishnu" John McLaughlin on a double-necked or acoustic guitar, with members Billy Cobham on drums, Rick Laird on electric bass, and Ornette ColemanOrnette Coleman (born March 19, 1930) was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1960s, and one of the more notable figures in jazz history. Coleman was raised in Fort Worth, Texas,where he began performing R&B and bebop initially on. As a result, Black Flag's discography is more varied than many of their punk-rock contemporaries.
Through seemly-constant touring throughout the United StatesThe United States of America also referred to as the United States U. America ¹ or the States is a federal republic in central North America, stretching from the Atlantic in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. It shares land borders with Canada in and occasionally, CanadaCanada historically the Dominion of Canada is the second-largest, and northernmost, country in the world. It is a decentralized federation of 10 provinces and 3 territories, governed as a constitutional monarchy, and formed in 1867 through an act of Confe and EuropeFor the band of the same name, see Europe (band . Europe is a continent forming the westermost part of the Eurasian supercontinent. Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Se, Black Flag established a dedicated fan base.
