Damaged

There was a thread on the 1001 Albums subreddit recently asking whether people took the context of the album (when it was released, impact, influence, etc) into consideration when reviewing records or if people rated albums solely on whether they liked the music or not. The majority said they rated solely on whether they like the music or not. I’m not one of those people. I think it’s important to take the influence and impact of a recording into account. Here’s why: This is a list of 1001 albums *to hear before you die*, implying that these records were selected because of their importance, their influence and not solely on the basis of whether the editor liked the way they sounded. I look at it like this: If these are records that must be heard before you die, then at the end of this, a person should have a somewhat decent understanding of the many facets of modern popular music and, because of that, these 1001 records should be considered as to whether or not they are essential to understanding the course of modern popular music up until today. As a result, I’m often reviewing these albums not only on the basis of whether I like them or not, but wether I think you can tell the story of modern music without hearing an album on this list. In essence, I am rating the list’s viability along with the sound of the records. So, can you tell the story of modern music without talking about the Beta Band or Badly Drawn Boy or 4 solo Morrissey records? Absolutely. Can you tell the story of modern rock music without talking about Black Flag? Doubtful. Whether it’s due to their status as a forerunner of hardcore punk, their influence in cultivating an underground music scene in America and exposing the world to that music scene through their incredibly influential record label, SST Records, Black Flag is a band who is essential to the story of modern music and their inclusion here is more than warranted, even if I don’t love every second of their music.

I'd like to hear Weird Al do a cover of Spray Paint, it's pretty much a polka already.

If I could have Half as much Energy as a young Henry Rollins I would probably be the strongest man alive. This album is fast, loud, and relentless. The pace zooms along and screams of southern California and Reagan era anger. This is wild and untamed, damaged. But triumphant waving the black flag of rebellion. Makes me really want to have a TV Party

There's so much that can be said about this album. It's a cornerstone piece of hardcore punk history. This was one of the albums that began the spit into hardcore as its own genre and put Henry Rollins - the world's scariest boyscout - into the spotlight. It's rough and agressive and very socially concious. It's just damn great and I love it. Full marks.

I don't mind punk, and I often don't know the lyrics to songs because often to me the singing is just an instrument. But, if singer's voices aren't instruments and they're just screaming, I have to be able to understand what they're screaming about. And I can't. I can occasionally pick up a sentence here or there, but otherwise it's just the same chord and same drums and same screaming endlessly. It either has to sound good, or it has to have a message. This was neither. Every song sounded exactly the same: Thrash-Thrash-Thrash-Thrash-THRAAAASH Thrash-Thrash-Thrash-Thrash-THRAAAASH Thrash-Thrash-Thrash-Thrash-THRAAAASH Thrash-Thrash-Thrash-Thrash-THRAAAASH Sounded like a garage demo of someone on their 3rd week with an instrument.

I guess this is what neo nazis listen to or something.

Tremendous. Mixed perfectly, not JUST power cords and screaming. Deserves legend status for genre

Damaged is a quintessential hardcore album and one of the most influential punk albums of all time. The music is noisy, messy, and invigorating. The lyrics are at times funny, angry, anti-authoritarian, and surprisingly empathetic such as the track 'Life of Pain.' Black Flag is a conscientious standard bearer and this album is truly phenomenal.

trash for 14 year olds angry at their dad

4.5 How timely, I just saw Black Flag last weekend at No Values… and they sucked. I actually left about halfway through their set to go get some pizza. If you go to one of their shows nowadays hoping to hear anything that sounds even remotely like this album, you’re going to be disappointed - Henry Rollins bounced a while ago and has since been replaced with professional skateboarder Mike Vallely, and, well, it’s not a great combination. In fact, it’s borderline unlistenable - I don’t know what the hell happened when Mike V joined, but somehow, one of the most iconic punk bands of all-time turned into a shitty cover band. Anyway, there was a time this band truly was great (I’m assuming they were great live as well - too young to have ever seen them with Rollins), and this album is probably the best exemplification of that. I mean, just the opening track Rise Above is proof enough - like, if you’re putting together a top ten list of punk anthems, there’s no way it doesn’t make the cut. It’s one of my personal favorites of all-time, and it’s just one of many bangers here - other favorites include: Six Pack, TV Party, Spray Paint, and Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie, though honestly, everything here is great and gets me in a particularly angst, mosh-y mood (meaning the album has done its job). That all to say, I have a lot of favorite punk albums, and I’m not sure this one quite reaches the level of others. I do think the back half of this isn’t quite as strong as the first, and the fact that the music cuts off abruptly in between certain tracks has always kind of bugged me as well. Still, it’s a damn good album, and one that laid the blueprint for all of punk to follow by introducing the “hardcore” to “hardcore punk” (Well, these guys and Minor Threat). As much as I love The Ramones and Sex Pistols, this album made them look like the Billboard Hot 100. Want to end with this - speaking of No Values, the festival was a strong reminder that punk music runs through my blood through and through. I mean, music in general is my happy place, but it’s something special when it’s loud and fast (though Bright Eyes and The Smiths will always hold a special place in another part of my heart). When I die, there better not be any sappy, black tie-wearing pity party going on, everyone I know and love better get a keg and blast some great tunes as loud as they can. Gabba gabba hey!

A real slobberknocker. Funny, hateful, even sad. Who doesn't feel a twinge of sympathy when Rollins garbles something like "… I'm confused, confused... don't wanna be confused... Don't even feel a thing, no... I don't wanna see... But you can't make me long for your life and security"? I checked my book and, yep, Chuck Eddy approves. Though he notes they went rapidly downhill from here. Anyone listening to this with two ears and a brain could tell you that was the only place they were ever heading.

"Style : Hardcore Punk." Il suffisait de lire ceci sur la page Wikipédia de ce cher album pour savoir que la note n'allait pas dépasser 2.

Cack Flag

Big Black Flag fan and this is arguably their finest

Have owned this album on vinyl almost thirty years and it still holds up. A classic hardcore album that is intense, humourous and brutally good!

FUCKING FUCK YEAH! This is LA punk right here. This band was one of the original, and most influential punk bands of all time, and you can't tell me listening to any track on this album doesn't make you just want to mosh. while i got into punk later in life, this band helped shape what I liked to listen to and opened me up to bands like NOFX, the Descendents, Rancid, and so many others.

What I thought was going to happen: a kinda wild hardcore album of satirical Dead Kennedys-ish songs with chaotic guitar solos playing a rhythm role What did happen: an album that gets increasingly insane and starts to sound like early Swans by the end?? so that was cool.

Like if Neil Young goes hardcore punk, very good.

So this is what Henry Rollins did when he was younger? I was surprised how "adolescent" the themes were e.g. I'm bored, don't wanna watch TV. The Coasters via The MC5. Not bad, but doesn't hold my attention

Five years late, and thereby a little laughable - punk had a very short shelf life and this was released after it had passed it's listen by date. If it had been released when the band was formed, in 1976, then it would deserve to be here, but as a mediocre copy of british punk, it should be consigned to the bargin bin

Damaged is the debut studio album by Black Flag, originally released in 1981. What a landmark recording in music history. One of the early hardcore records. And man this thing is packed with energy. Right off the bat with "Rise Above". It immediately draws you in. Many would say this isn't their best album, but it's so damn good! You 100% need to hear this before you die.

Jup. Goil.

YEAH!

35 minuten vollgas

crystallized angry angst punk. there is an inner rage within all of us that can headbang to this. can't tell if these lyrics are dumb or brilliant

Fcuk YEAH!!!!

Classic punk. Fast, aggressive but still with some tongue-in-cheek satire.

In isolation the album is a solid 4 but she consideration is given to the influence this has had on a lot of the music I love today it's easy to justify the big 5. Imagine the stares going on between the drums and bass during the intro of No More. Accidentally fucking listened to it in shuffle, only the second time I've done that in 243 albums which is a pretty good run. Hate doing that though.

Every song is good-great (the guitar in particular) and fun. Its Henry Rollins debut and a band that revolutionized punk music. About as iconic as you get

Slightly shocked I've never listened to this before. Pretty timeless.

Sin skips. Energía caótica. Cool en general. Me gustó como inicia con rise above y también me gustó thirsty and miserable. Mención especial a Sixpack que es una pendejada. Mood: me sangran los oídos.

Great record. Despite what my wife said when she walked into the kitchen with me playing this a 6:30am.

Influential Punk album my arse! Released practically in 1982. So only 3 years late to the party then. Punk had burned out by 1979 you twats. Listen to Ramones, UK Subs, Sham 69, Sex Pistols, Damned if you want to be influenced. This album isn't at all bad, but influential? or something I need to hear before I die? Do me a favour, mate!

Whilst I like a lot of the music itself, there's something about the way its recorded that makes it feel small and lack punch. This is loud, raucous, messy music, but it sounds so distant and lacking in power. It's a weird dissonance between the music itself and how it sounds to me.

These workmanlike rockers are elevated by Ginn’s skronky guitar, which sometimes sounds like Ornette Coleman. Rollins is an excellent barker; I had fun with this.

Music was alright just not my top choice. This is what you’d play to scare someone away from your house if they had over stayed their welcome

Oh Hank, calm TF down. Playing live in bands was fun but having a punk band on the card was always rubbish. Bass players always on the down stroke is fun though. I can live without this thanks

Black Flag raised some red flags with me. Had to check if they were Nazis, apparently not at all, but some of their listeners are, not their fault but not my bag.

Nah

Je tiens a presenter mes plus plates excuses suite a ma review d'hier. En effet, il est bon de savoir que j'écris ces reviews sur mon temps de travail. Je me dois donc, afin de rester un employé modèle aux yeux de mes collègues, de taper ces reviews que vous aimez tant à une vitesse phénomènale. De plus, il est courant pour moi de rédiger ces reviews avec un Cracker à l'épautre dans la main droite, afin de pouvoir me substanter par la même occasion. Il est donc parfaitement compréhensible que quelques fautes de frappes se glissent entre les lignes. J'ai, par dessus le marché, la facheuse tendance, et ce depuis mes plus jeunes classes, de ne pas me relire. Cela m'avait notamment valu de complétement louper mon entrée en matière, lors d'un paragraphe argumenté sur les mémoires de la guerre d'Algérie. Je tiens d'ailleurs à rappeler à tout le monde que sans l'intervention de Pierre Mendès France (dit PMF, a ne pas confondre avec Pierre Menès ou encore Jeremy Menez France), dieu seul sait dans quelle situation se serait trouvée notre belle nation aujourd'hui.

Started off enjoyable but quickly got a bit bored as every song essentially sounds the same. If this was an EP just consisting of the A Side it'd easily be a 4. But its not, so its not.

A bit full on for a Monday

The saddest part is they really thought they cooked with this one

This is not interesting.

Generic punk rock. Nothing special standing out to me here. Six Pack and Tv Party are heavy influencers to The Chats with novelty themes of getting drunk and being a lad. Other than that, it’s just a 35 minute racket. Toward the end of this album I was questioning my existence and my sanity.

Perfect album. No notes. And its influence is undeniable, even the punk and hardcore bands of today have absorbed it.

Short, angry, with moments of wtf humor while going after america's commercial culture juxtaposed with feelings of depression and loneliness.

Beautifully, wonderfully, aggressively perfect album. The raw aggression, and the DIY feeling of the album only improve music. Wonderful

5.0/5.0: Iconic

iconic punk album, easy 5

Gimme Gimme Gimme

Great!

After the first three songs, I honestly forgot that I'd put this album on for the project instead of personal listening enjoyment. It's right up my alley, excellent stuff.

One of the essential Punk albums. Henry Rollins has enough energy to bring down an entire building here. Rise Above is my clear favorite here but I like everything else on here as well. Maybe not my complete favorite Black Flag album but still a great one nonetheless.

Really good thrash punk rock album. Henry Rollins just destroys!!!

This is probably one of the most influental albums out there. Voice of the youth in those days. And there is nothing more important than that.

Henry Rollins barefoot stomps the Beatles

WHAT DO THEY KNOW ABOUT PARTYING….. OR ANYTHING RLSE?

This time last year I got a Phil Spector Christmas album. That one was awesome. This one is awesome. I was 11 when this came out so it wasn't on my radar. I did see the Rollins Band with Gwar in '90. A memorable gig for sure. This banger is good aggressive fun. Classic Punk.

I have a friend who is probably Rollins' number one fan. I've seen Henry doing his spoken word thing a couple of times. I really enjoyed him as Zaheer in The Legend of Korra. Yet I've never really dug into Black Flag so it was nice to sit down with a short sharp introduction. If you'd asked me if I like hardcore, I would probably say no but albums like this make me question my understanding of hardcore. Faves: Rise Above, Six Pack, TV Party, Life of Pain

Raw power hardcore punk music. Rollins is angry and he shows it through every song. My favorites: Six Pack TV Party Thirsty and Miserable Room 13 Must-listen if you say you like punk music. 5/5

Black Flag's Damaged is one of the greatest debut albums in the punk rock genre. Infused with fury, humor and the decency to keep things short and sweet (with a few exceptions), there is an unrelenting intensity across Damaged's thirty-four minutes that would have been laughable if it were any other band (okay maybe Dead Kennedys would have done something similar). It's only in the album's last few minutes where we hear the band drift into a far slower, yet no less menacing, tempo that would be expanded upon in subsequent records. But that's for later. Damaged is essential listening for anyone willing to delve into the American side of punk rock.

Perfection

Absolutely seminal, one of the most influential albums of all time, absolutely bangs.

i am a massive punk fan. this type of grimy, filthy, and typically offensive (at least to some listeners) music is what keeps my faith in music as an art form. being able to just say whatever over simple riffs hits the same way that roadside graffiti hits for me. a simple statement that says "fuck the mainstream" and exists for the sake of creation. id love to see more punk as i keep doing this project.

Full marks for lack of subtlety. I have a huge soft spot in my heart for Henry Rollins.

Brilliant, angry lashing out

Great album of course, with one of the best opening songs, only discovered this album years after its release, it has this typical early 80s american guitar, so like it very much. Well-timed record as well (as I am currently reading Corporate Rock Sucks about SST records).

Loved that.

A pivotal album for hardcore and the indie DIY movement. It takes a couple of listenings but this album is perfect. Raw, ironic, and fun - damaged has it all!

A punk classic.

Hell yeah.

I mean no disrespect to other hardcore punk albums when I say that they had no reason to show up other guitarists in the genre as hard as they did with this album. Every song's riff isn't just technical thrashing, but elaborate guitar riffs that are not only extremely catchy and raw, but are just straight up nasty, and paired with Henry Rollins' "on the brink of death" vocals leads the album to perhaps one of the most earnestly aggressive and destructive punk albums of the 80s. There is no wonder in my mind how this became such a massive hit, as only as the album went on did I find myself into the style more and more, and while the vocals did take some getting used to, returning to the earlier songs after going through the whole album had me realize just how consistent this record is, and featuring fifteen tracks and still pulling that feat off is quite the achievement. It's juvenile in the most charismatic of ways, and while perhaps it can come off as a bit dumb, sometimes that's what you need to get through a day. Great record, I look forward to checking out their sludgier follow-up.

A perfectly realized 35 minutes of hardcore's sound and spirit. Visceral and raw, this album hits hard, fast and loud - an onslaught of lightning riffs, pulverizing drumming and a whole range gutteral screams from agonized drawn wails out to raging machine gun blasts. Damaged captures suburban alienation from the bland world of Reaganism and 80s mass consumerism, articulating its pure hate of the hollow life they promised. Beyond that though Black Flag epitomized the ethos of DIY counterculture, the desire to live differently and make your own way - and the grueling commitment and burnout that involved. This sounds like that - flailing angrily to create rigorously rehearsed chaos.

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. Quintisential angry young men doing what they need to. But this manages to add in good hooks without turning into Greenday style pop punk. Good lyrics, the bass slaps and Henry Rollins is a beast.

Genre defining

de cover vertelt het al : dit is een agressief plaatje... Rollins op zijn best...korte krachtige songs, met maatschappijkritische en ook hilarische teksten...

Angry anthems for the jaded and disaffected. At age 51 this album still resonates with me as much as it did at 15 when I heard random tracks on a mix tape given to me by a school mate.

Great punk album

THEY HATE US, WE HATE THEM

I think hardcore punk might be my thing. Though as angry as usual, there are little bits of comedy thrown into this album. 100% influenced Nirvana and grunge. Feels like a bedroom that used to be a basement.

Loved it!

TV PARTY TONIGHT

Cool

Loved this, goddamn.

Album 74.. probably the first I've really loved having never heard any of the artist's songs before. I didn't think I'd like hardcore at all, it always seems quite inaccessible, but this is great. I loved the proper punk attitude: anti establishment and unashamedly aggressive, with some spots of sarcastic humour in the lyrics as well. All delivered with an energy and PUNCH befitting the subject matter.

Makes me want to damage

I didn’t know I had such an affinity for 80s hardcore, but based on how my ratings are looking on this project, it looks like I do. This has all of the jagged edges and noisy interludes that you could ever want. Great stuff.

кайф. открыл для себя хардкор панк рок благодаря этому альбому. супер эмоциально, драйвово, грязно, болезненно и жизненно. это тот альбом который я хотел написать в 15 хд. Генри Роллинз монстр. плюс концептик тут есть, целый путь борьбы с собой травмированного (по настоящему) человека, прям чувствуется как он пережил все эти эмоции. вот будь я в плохом эмоциональном состоянии - заслушал бы до дыр. а так, себе конечно добавил, но хз когда вернусь к нему, слишком уж болезненная музыка. короче кайф оценка - 9/10

A hardcore punk classic - genre defining.

Noisy, messy, deceptively simple, plenty of variety, a nod to the past while shaping the future - it's safe to say I'm a fan!

Rise Above- 5/5 Spray Paint- 4.8/5 Six Pack- 4.5/5 What I See- 4.7/5 TV Party- 5/5 Thirsty and Miserable- 5/5 Police Story- 5/5 Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie- 4.9/5 Depression- 4.7/5 Room 13- 5/5 Damaged II- 4.8/5 No More- 5/5 Padded Cell- 5/5 Life of Pain- 4.9/5 Damaged I- 4.7/5 Total- 4.9/5

punk black flag. so fun, so fast.

This album was great! Love punk!

Eerste punkalbum die ik ooit luisterde, in mijn tienerjaren. Dacht altijd dat het enge harde muziek was maar hierdoor kwam ik erachter dat het ook grappig en mijn kant van de politiek was.

Just so energetic and trashy and fun and unable to take itself seriously. It's a totally American take on punk-rock and it's all the better for it.

Punk rock classic. Love the intensity!

FUCK YES. I love this album so much.

Good fun. I especially loved the TV party one. Reminded me very much of my mid twenties.

I was dreading the global reviews on this, and they were what I expected. Here's the thing. If you've never heard Damaged, it's going to sound like a samey racket. But if you were around 14 when you discovered it, it's going to be a foundational record. Guess which I am. Equal parts sarcastically funny, furiously angry, and heartbreakingly sad, it's a vital touchpoint to the evolution of punk rock, hardcore, and metal. But, also very much a "you had to be there" record. I get the objections, but I will always love it.