My War

Performer: Black Flag (Punk)
Engineer: Spot
Producer: Greg Ginn; Spot; Bill Stevenson
Distributor: E1 Distribution (USA)

Notes: Black Flag: Henry Rollins (vocals); Greg Ginn (guitar); Dale Nixon (bass); Bill Stevenson (drums). Recorded at Total Access, Redondo Beach, California. Personnel: Henry Rollins (vocals); Greg Ginn (guitar); Bill Stevenson (drums). Recording information: Total Access Studios, Redondo Beach, CA. Illustrator: Raymond Pettibon. 1984's MY WAR is a sometimes-confusing transitional record for Black Flag. Hobbled by a lengthy legal battle with SST's former distributors Unicorn Records, during which the band couldn't even record under its own name, remaining members Greg Ginn, Henry Rollins and Bill Stevenson started from scratch when the legal dust had settled. Without even bothering to hire a new bassist (guitarist Ginn also handled bass, under the pseudonym Dale Nixon), the trio recorded MY WAR on its own. The six songs on side one are mostly speedy hardcore not far removed from the band's most recent new record, 1981's DAMAGED, and the title track and "I Love You" are among Black Flags's best in that style. The three lengthy songs on side two, however, point toward the blues-tinged heavy metal style the band would explore over its next several albums, like some amalgam of Black Sabbath and the Stooges.

Black Flag, founded in 1978, was one of the first California punk bands. They were originators of American hardcore, a faster, louder variant on the original British punk style. In 1980, singer Henry Rollins arrived, and the band began its journey toward iconic status. Though Black Flag didn't survive the '80s, Rollins went on to become an icon of alternative-rock culture, and the band's music inspired legions of younger punk groups.

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