Damaged

I know this is unpopular to say, but I want Henry Rollins to STFU. We get it, the world sucks and we have to take control of ourselves, ourselves. That's not what this is all about though. This is about Damaged. And Damaged can play on a loop for all I care. This is a top 10 punk album of my youth. It was great when I was 14. It's great now! It holds up, and I don't say that strictly in the memory lane way. If you're just getting into punk, I think you can love this album just as much today as I did in 1988. But what do I know about new punk? I haven't paid much attention since Maxium Rocknroll went out of print. To the reviewer who saw Black Flag with Mike Vallely... you have to go see FLAG with Keith Morris (the original singer of Black Flag). It has original BF members and it doesn't sound like a cover band when you watch them.

Well, they have a few good songs, but I get tired of the sound pretty fast. Good thing it has the correct length for a punk album. Favourites: Rise Above, TV Party.

This was pretty rad. 4/5

Classic punk record, here full of so much energy and it's just very consistent in quality, borders the line between punk and metal

I'm pretty sure only grumpy record store owners actually listen to this shit.

1056 - "Here's your juice box and orange slice. Thanks for coming."

Jag har mycket respekt för punk, både som kultur och musik. Men efter Rise Above som jag ändå tycker om, blir det långtråkigt.

Very good. It is aggressive, angry, energeric, noisy, direct... I enjoyed several songs: "Rise Above", "Spray Paint" (this is great), "Six Pack", "Police Story", "Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie", "Depression", "Room,13", or "Damaged II" (probably my favourite). I think this is between 4 and 5 stars. Probably up to 5 stars if taking into account its influence. In any case, at least for now, I'm awarding this 4 stars (may need to revisit though).

Sellaista rääkyä kuuluu tästä punkista, mutta melodinen sähkökitara auttaa kuuntelu kokemuksessa

This music is for people who have never had a soft-boiled egg. If this music was a food, it would be a child's mudpie. This does what it tries to but sucks to listen to. It's influential and high energy and is a jigsaw piece to what music has become so far.

I get it. I get why it's not for a lot of people. With art you check how close to the edges you can get. Energy and angst. Perfect track and album length for a punk album.

I knew from the first 30 seconds I wasn’t gonna like this. I thought it was weirdly charming in parts. But it’s a tough listen. I’ve read that it is hugely influential in understanding how punk and heavier music progressed into the modern era. But I’m just not familiar enough to let it override how little I enjoyed what’s on the tape. 2/5.

'Damaged' is tried-and-true album, but I hardly ever listen to it. Right now, after a tough day at work and my very first-ever Hyrox session, it hits the spot and feels quite refreshing. Star-wise, it's three point something, but I'm rounding up to four because Black Flag's significance to hardcore punk has been so major.

I had high hopes and was thoroughly disappointed.

There's some stuff to like. The lyrics are sometimes funny, otherwise they are basic. It's an influential album. The production is awful. Altogether, though, pretty good.

это энергично, но слишком уж однообразно не могу оценить влияние альбома на музыку, не знаю контекста и времени запомнилось ли мне что-то? нет буду ли переслушивать? намеренно - нет 2.5

I am not a punk fan. The things that make it what it is, messy guitars, aggressive lyrics, and layered loud playing just is not for me. That being said I think Henry Rollins is supremely talented, and I understand that Black Flag has had a significant impact on not just punk music but all music. I just could not wrap my head around this album thought. The lyrics were simples, the sound was annoying and not enjoyable for me.

Pazzi

Such angry young men!

I imagine this was influential but just wasn’t for me

Screaming

I don’t love this era of punk music and I hated the vocalist. Not much more to be said.

Been listening to punk and hardcore for 20+ years and this has always been a band I just cant get into. I respect its importance but just not my thing.

I don’t think this is gonna be for me based off of the first track repeating ‘rise above we’re gonna rise above’ for 2 minutes yeah this is not for me…I don’t like the guys voice and I don’t really care for the instrumentals of this one either. And on the last track it sounded like the singer was throwing up for like 30 seconds. Tbh this is the first album on this list where I really don’t see why it’s on this list at all. Maybe there’s some historical context I’m missing cause it was release in 1981 but regardless this was not something I enjoyed. 1.2/5

one of the best feelings is actually recognising samples and this record ringed a bell so strong right off the bat with the first song's drum pattern and intro: it's athoth a go go by machine girl yummm! it is so embeded in my mind i could only loop that intro endlessly, which i think also didn't help to enjoy the source material. it is very punk-y and loud, not usually my stuff, but sounds fun, the rough vocals actually do something (not a fan of the male choir tho). the songs blend into each other and it's hard to differentiate the instrumentals. maybe a big part of not enjoying this sort of music is how i can almost smell the sweat, blood and hecticness of a mosh pit - for some it's amazing, but it's a no return to me.

Yet again, I can hear how influential this is, but that doesn’t mean I necessarily enjoyed it

Day966 - it’s a green flag to me

Took my a couple of listens, and I'm still not familiar enough with the histories of hardcore on both sides of the Atlantic to know whether this is groundbreaking or merely a good, solid hardcore album. But I really like it: raw, fast, angry.

Raw, intense, amazing hardcore guitar work, Henry Rollins screamo vocals at their best. Some HC punk from the 80’s now feels dated, but this one holds up hella well.

Outside of the couple of hits on this album, it ends up sort of a homogeneous angry blob of LA punk. I don't know why, but Black Flag just never really did it for me.

Quick, fun songs with a raw, late punk feel. Not bad.

I wish 3.5 existed. I like this a million times more than the Sex Pistols. Some songs are amazing and others are bad. I understand the live for Black Flag now. Best Songs: Rise Above, Six Pack, TV Party Worst Songs: What I See, Padded Cell

Good punk. I get other people don't like it, but I love it.

I thought this band was metal originally but I guess its hardcore punk. It is said to be influential to the punk genre, something I've seen many times from the generator punk albums, and its overall fine. Its still better than the majority of punk albums on here. Cool cover.

I only listen to this in the dark.

I like punk, but this was kind of exhausting. It wasn't bad, but it just kept going and not adding anything knew. Great riffs, good solos, and yelling lyrics. Liked Songs: "Rise Above" , "TV Party" , "Thirsty And Miserable" , "Room 13" , "Damaged II" , "No More"

I listened to part of two songs. Too angry, not for me.

Not an enjoyable listening experience for me.

rough-ish punk. not bad

Classic!

didn’t care for this :/

Noted for being key in the development of Hardcore punk once Henry Rollins became the lead singer. He's quite a good contributor to programmes on punk and the rise of grunge and the visceral nature of the music is undoubted. That's where the positives run out - the music is diabolical and to my ears is not a fusion of the Ramones and Johnny Thunders atonal guitar solos. I hear a recording of a band sounding like a live Iggy Pop bootleg at best. I've heard it now and I hope I die after hearing some better albums.......

Ok for 1981 this sounds a lot more 90s and from reading global reviews thats why its important and included. Thats awesome. Glad its here. I still hated it.

Nah this started off as a 2 given i didn’t really like it but would understand that others would like the rage this album coveys, but then it went off in the deep end and I got sick of listening. I am damaged after listening to this but maybe that’s what they were going for.

Punk is down there with rap

Hardcore punk built from distorted guitars, pounding drums, abrasive vocals, and relentless energy feels like being shoved into a cramped room where everyone is shouting at once and the amplifiers leave no space to breathe. The rawness and aggression are unmistakably, simply too much noise competing for attention, leaving me more overwhelmed than engaged.

next up we've got the debut of black flag, considered to be one of the first ever hardcore punk rock bands. loud and abrasive, this album clearly took a lot of time to make from its inception to its recording, and yet according to wikipedia people just didn't give enough of a shit when the album actually came out in stores. punk historations seem to look at this album fondly in retrospective reviews. the band ended up rerecording tracks from this album years later. these guys are spittin in the microphone and flipping off their audience the whole time. it's hardcore to the level where you can easily imagine the stupidest moshpit, with a lot of dudes spinning around like helicopters. truth be told, it's so unbelievably hardcore that it actually made me chuckle at points? clearly my reaction wasn't the first thing the band probably wanted out of a listener, but it's a good, positive chuckle. this album was an entertaining listen, it's definitely not my cup of tea but it gave me a really clear window to this sort of stuff. this is a very very strong 3.5.

This is a special album. 1980 and all the fury and unresolved angst of teenagedom already worn out. The contrast of LA's self-destruction, led by a DC native, with DC's positive hardcore, is really a thing to behold. Ginn's guitar powers through. Robo's drums sound great. Unfortunately, the mix is muddy (by design?!) and despite parts sounding good, overall it doesn't...rise above that pretty poor choice. Rollins, god bless 'im, isn't yet up to the task of carrying the future weight of Black Flag's legacy (though I do think the b-side suits him better). The album just doesn't sound alive the way Black Flag was alive in concert. I'll admit I'm too young to know - I had the pleasure of seeing Flag live and it kicked ass, but am aware it's not the same thing. This album is that it's like Carole King (didn't see that one coming, did you?): the covers are better. Pretty much every version of Rise Above sounds better than this one. Black Fag's Gimme Gimme Gimme is a lot more fun. While I love a lot of what's going on here due to it coming around at a time in my life when this kind of noise and expression was what I needed, I know that for all its faults it's still pretty unique. Definitely a hear it, but while it's special, it's also not...great?

Got worse as it went on

Shouty Shouty

3/5

I get its influential but its not that fun of a listen

Rabia con guitarras, un disco agresivo y abrasivo, guitarras pesadas que funcionan como un asalto. El único problema es que cuando llevo 7 canciones escuchando a Rollins criticar a la tele o al gobierno, me aburro.

Black Flag - Damaged Thought I’d like this a bit more as I’m a big fan of Fugazi and I like Henry Rollins solo stuff. A bit samey. Maybe required a couple of listens Standout track: Damaged I ⭐️⭐️⭐️

You know what? These 15 short, energetic tracks rip. Black Flag has riffs and an ironic, fun delivery that made these fly by. I’m too old for this to go in regular rotation at this point. But it was some punky fun.

angsty but great hardcore record, rise above is such a good start to this. henry rollins isn't my favourite vocalist ever but he does have the perfect voice for this kind of album.

Before today I had three songs from this album liked and I thought I was gonna have a great time. Unfortunately, I was correct to like those three songs and only those three.

hmm. was ok

This is a tough one: On the one hand, Henry Rollins and Black Flag are among the absolute icons of hardcore punk. On the other hand, hardcore punk isn’t exactly my absolute favorite. So today, I’ll keep it short: Yes, of course you have to be familiar with "Damaged". But also: Yes, I understand anyone who doesn’t like it.

Some people don’t just rate albums based on whether they like them or not but instead think it’s important to take the influence and impact of a recording into account. You know, nerds. Half the lyrics on this album are about wanting to die and barely managing to stay alive but most of the 32 members/past members of this band are still kicking around in their sixties and seventies playing shitty music and yelling about things. Also, you needed 32 dudes to play three notes and scream?! This was apparently recorded before Henry Rollins was held captive for a decade in a VH1 documentary television commentary talking head recording booth. Anyway, this sucks.

punk monster icon

This is one of the albums that changed my mind on punk rock.

Idk man sounded like shit to me

A solid release in punk. This album probably exemplifies hardcore punk. The blitzkrieg-like tempo, the gang vocals, the short-form songs, the manic lead vocals, etc. Even though this album has a very noisy and aggressive feel to it, some of the lyrics are completely silly. Like in "Spray Paint" and "TV Party." The music totally doesn't match the lyrics for those songs. The album is quite lo-fi, which has a charm, like the overall muffledness it's as if I went to one of their shows with no hearing protection. The album eventually ends on the song "Damaged I" which is a hint on what's to come on My War. Who would've thought a punk band would conform themselves? A lot of people I suppose. I guess they thought Black Flag were a pop band that were going to limit themselves to a very specific sound. I found this a lot more enjoyable than I believe my first two listens, I definitely gotta throw this on again when I have like 35 minutes to spare. I recommend this album but I wish My War was on the list instead if it had to be one or the other. Highlight Song/s: "Six Pack", "Gimme Gimme Gimme" and "Damaged I"

Some dated lyrics but still sounds new. Would have loved to have been at one of these shows back in the day.

Classic hardcore punk for sure, but lacks some the elements that are key to the genre. Later Black Flag records are actually more emblematic of the genre than this imo.

I think you had to be there? I have so much context for 60’s music because of the docs like Woodstock. I do not have that for punk and even if I did I don’t think it’s as coherent a story.

Dang! Really liked this. It sounds contemporary enough and shitty enough to be acceptable punk to my ears. Love how Bass drives a lot of songs. TV Party was my favorite. Punk bands today like The Chats copy some of that absurdity (especially with the chanty background choruses).

Really fun. TV Party might be the best song I've ever heard.

Ironically, I came out unscathed from this experience. Some moments are actually decent and somewhat coherent

Six pack Tv party

I’m a My War guy but they are unleashed and confrontational and awesome here. He is completely emotionally unleashed and Greg assault’s his guitar serving u violent asymmetrical riffage. Drive

It's punk. Very punky punk. I like the punkiest punk to rock out to.

Emblematic of an era

Always loved this album. Vinnie Gimmie Gimmie is my favorite from it, but the album as a whole is great.

Maso

For 34 minutes this album brought me down in to the sweaty basement of some bar in L.A. I got pushed and shoved, my toes stepped on, and beer spilled all over my new shoes... And loved every minute of it. This feels entirely authentic in a sea full of copycats and posers, these guys definitely deserve some credit to be some of the first to pull this sound off.

An absolutely ferocious cornerstone of hardcore punk music. What’s not to like here? Also, to the reviewer who writes: “I guess this is what neo nazis listen to or something”, please read up on hardcore punk’s history with nazis. Black Flag are anti-fascist to their core and are staunch supporters of punching nazis in the face; a sentiment that needs a bit of a resurgence unfortunately.

No

Not one of my favs I actually think I found something I don't really like that much, nothing about this was appealing at all would not recommend

i like punk and i think it's amusing and has some stuff to say

I don’t know if I ever listened to Blag Flag before this. I thought I knew what they sounded like but this is so much more melodic, not heavy and…funnier than I was expecting! I’m a bit sad I didn’t listen to this when I was 15, I would have enjoyed the droll social commentary offered up alongside the punishing riffs!

"Punk music placeholder", the album. Seriously, it was exactly what you could imagine punk rock is, with a high dose of teen angst. It wasn't BAD, just... Typical.

Listens: 2.5 Standout Tracks: Rise Above, TV Party, Gimme Gimme Gimme First, the important part: I have reached 500 album out of "1001". Yes, I know its actually 1089 albums (plus user-submitted ones) but 500 is a cooler milestone than 544/545. So yea. I feel less enthused than I did at 250, but I am still enjoying this. I've found plenty of new stuff that I really love, even more that I categorically enjoy, and have also confirmed some long-held beliefs: I have a strong hatred for twangy traditional country music. The 1980s is far and away my least liked decade. I am also a "wordsmith". I've written reviews for 99% of the albums I've reviewed. Here's my updated stats: 5-Star Albums: 69 (nice) 1-Star Albums: 23 Average Rating: 3.29 (+0.02) Favorite Decade: 1960 (up from 1950s) Thumbs-Up'ed Reviews: 9 (+4) Albums on the List that I have listened to before starting this project: I can't be bothered to keep track of this stat anymore. I am certainly not going to go counting out 500 albums right now. --------------- This album is another miss for me on the Punk genre. It's pretty noisy, discordant, with only mediocre minimal instrumentation. The whole thing feels washed out. I am also really not a fan of "chorus" that occurs on some of the tracks, where Henry Rollins (TIL) is going back and forth with the backing vocals, like on TV Party. What I do appreciate is the social commentary. Six Pack and TV party are excellent criticisms of *gestures broadly* the way of life in most parts of America, in the 1980s and even presently. I also recognize the importance of the scene, and respect the music, even if I don't personally find it all that enjoyable.

I enjoyed listening to this. Socially and artistically, there is much merit. I don't think I'll be adding this to my personal collection, but I do think it requires at least a second look from me. ⭐⭐⭐

Cool punk

Henry Rollins, fuck yeah (8/10, 4/5 on this scale)

Influential hardcore punk band. The sound was cleaner and the songs more structured than I expected. Good guitar player (Greg Ginn) with Henry Rollins singing. Typical adolescent lyrics. I can't listen to a lot of this at once but this a good example of the genre. TV Party is funny and was in Repo Man movie.

Felt uneven, the good parts were good but fell back on too much incoherent yelling

4/10 - Not as bad as some hardcore metal but still not my thing

it could be seen as whining. but i feel that this album really showcases a style of music that is very cathartic, personal and important as an outlet to the destructive way of life that thrives in certain environments. i think that if more people did music like this, the world would be a better place. not because there were less crazy and damaged people. But more of them, of us, would have a reasonable outlet to all that negativity and weight. The lyrics are direct, the music is functional an fast. It's raw and aggressive. I feel compelled and seen in some of it, and it's that good for me, for these reasons.

Este álbum se siente como un grito desesperado. Es un ritmo ansioso y ruidoso que no deja espacios ni para respirar. El sonido juega un rol tan importante en la atmósfera, que se vuelve el protagonista de la obra. Junto a voces que no buscan sonar limpias, amplifican este sentimiento. Si bien no es para nada mi estilo, hicieron un trabajo impecable en el album, logrando emitir esas sensaciones que el rock puro busca transmitir. Los instrumentos, las voces, silencios y todas aquellas decisiones que tomaron lograron generar esa sensación desperada y ansiosa que buscaban transmitir.

That was a long 34 minutes! I wish American punk bands had the wit and energy of their British cohort.

just bad music man, every song is exactly the same and boring, cant understand how this is on the list, saved 0/15

voy a suponer q no dormir a la noche y haberlo escuchado a primera hora de la mañana no ayudó, pero posta no puedo pensar en volver a escucharlo así que me tendré que quedar con mi primera impresión que fue por favor que termine ya

Man, I am just not the right target audience for this. This was a dreadful listening experience for me.

Sounds like the singer is about to puke the whole time. Hate the way that sounds.

Fuckin A goddamn right Black Flag!! 5

TV party is soooo good I always imagined them to be super self-serious but there are a lot of like character songs. Still mostly didn't do anything for me.

Не, я понимаю, что отцы панка и всё такое, но слушать это невозможно

#190/1001 🇺🇸🏴 From Sinatra yesterday to Black Flag today. I wonder what the old crooner would have made of this? Its a long time since i've listened to it but i bloody love it. The influence of Black Flag cannot be underestimated and whilst they didn't sell as many records as they should have (Read This Band Could Be Your Life by Michael Azzerad) they certainly paved the way for the American alternative scene of the late 80s / early 90s. Best Tracks: Rise Above, Six Pack, TV Party, Police Story, Depression.

Where have I heard "TV Party" before? I wanna say Futurama?? Yup confirmed. That was the only slightly lit spot. Wow this album was unbearable.

no thanks. did-not-finish

Think not of Damaged as a dusty relic of a bygone age, but rather as a living, breathing testament of unyielding human resolve. Herein lies the fury of a desperate troupe who, possessing naught left to lose, did fling their very souls into thirty-five fleeting minutes of spinning wax. 'Tis a heavy, hostile tempest—yet utterly vital. If this mighty din stirreth not thy blood to strike thy fist against the stony wall, then surely, gentle listener, cold death hath already claimed thy silent heart.

The guitar work on this record directly or indirectly influenced so much of my favourite guitar stuff. It sounds so brilliant in parts. Some of the raw punky sounds in general are fantastic. I really wish it wasn't slightly let down by some pretty dumb subject matter in places (e.g. Tv party.) I guess punk shouldn't need to be political or anything but this sometimes feels extra conformist.

Not sure about hardcore.

The 3 M's of Black flag: conscious musicality with knucklehead muscularity, lampooning adolescent masculinity. Also "TV Party" being one of the rare hardcore songs with a sense of humor enough to reach the general populace, My boss has a copy of Damaged in the crate of random normie college year records in our server room.

Black Flag is in my top 5 favorite bands of all time list, so this isn’t really even fair, but Damaged is an incendiary powerhouse of an album. If you like aggressive punk rock or hardcore, it’s got it all: combustible and atonal guitars, a muscular rhythm section (including Chuck Dukowski’s guttural picked bass), and killer economical songs that don't so much build as explode from the outset. It’s pretty remarkable that Henry Rollins had just joined the band and waltzed into the studio to record this ready-to-go batch of songs, because he sounds like a feral animal and fully inhabits the role. The band would never really sound like this again, but there are a couple tracks on side 2 that foreshadow the slowed-down sludge direction they would inflict on their apoplectic punk followers on My War.

I don't even listen to Black Flag (damn glad I did just now) but I would trade any of the numerous Elvis Costello or Nick Cave albums for some reason on this list for another one or two of these Black Flag puppies.

Foundational.

Serious about fighting the good fight. Unserious about everything else. Perfect punk but doesn’t 100% rock my world

That was fun I liked that. I knew their top song but never listened to an album of theirs before. I like the guitar tone. RISE ABOVE WE'RE GONNA RISE ABOVE

Banal, talentless trash. (Unless I’m really missing something…?)

Ugh. DNF.

Shit was cool at first but then it morphed into them just screaming into the void on distorted guitar rifts & im overly cool on that

4.5 Classic but almost quaint by today's standards

Punk demasiado gutural para ser punk

messy enough jeje

DEATH GRIPS SAMPLE caught in the first 5 seconds of the album TS SO TUFF. otherwise, not my kind of music at all. W political takes

There are btter option

Tv party so true

Quite enjoyable. Music for drinking white cider on a park bench on a rainy night in November.

On the fine side of a racket

3.5 rounded up for nostalgia.

Baffling

Just a bit of a racket

Not that great 1.7/10

Classic, of course. There are much more iconic punk albums from this time that are better but I do get why this is here. It was good to listen to this again.

At first I thought I might enjoy it because the punk vibe was there, but it just kept being angry and yelling. By the time I got to Gimmie, Gimmie, and Room 13 I just really wanted it to be over. It wasn't really giving anything new or different, just yelling

TV Party was fun but the rest of this was too loud and noisy for me. I appreciate an angry album on the 4th, but it just wasn’t doing it for me.

While this album features sometimes interesting guitar work, it still lacks a certain musical variance and musically interesting ideas. Every track almost sounds the same. While there are certainly worse albums, it is nothing I would consider "special" or "good", more so "average".

The TV Party they mock so ruthlessly sounds absolutely off the chain compared to anything that I have attended in the past couple of decades...

Tv song is great but other than that I was booed

It's okay.

Decent album to end my journey on

I am Henry Rollins, hear me ROAR! Me angry, RAAAAAHHH!! The government is bad!!! I want to.. watch tv and drink beer? (!!!!) Black Flag is one of those bands where I think two things are true: 1. You Had To Be There, and 2. The influence is outsized compared to the qualify of the actual music. It’s very easy to dismiss punk, and hardcore punk like this in particular for sounding samey. A lot of punk was made by people who could barely play instruments and thus three-chord-punk was born- very basic stuff with the same drum beats and guitar riffs with whatever angry vocal you wanted to throw on top. It didn’t matter if it was good, it just had to have the attitude. Even the Red Hot Chili Peppers once said on “Funky Crime”: “p(f)unk is the attitude.” That said, this album definitely came equipped with the DNA that set hardcore punk into motion: you’ve got everything from micro songs, to anti establishment textures, to chillin with the homies songs, and even some filler! The album does have a fair amount of variety in terms of structure, which is more than you can say for a lot of punk albums, especially early ones. A lot of these guys showed up at the same time, immediately following the Sex Pistols and Ramones- Black Flag, JFA, Adolescents, Minor Threat, which gave way to Suicidal Tendencies, NOFX, and others who expanded on the “skate” side of things and less political. This one is tough to rate though. On influence alone it’s a 5, but personal enjoyment is more like a 3. ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 it is.

Good rock thx

Boring modality.

erm ik vind punk wel leuk maar deze was echt mid..

dit s echt lege punk

A very influential album whose legacy probably exceeds the actual quality of the music. The simple and brutal Punk assault hits hard at first, but the impact is short-lived. The mark left behind is just a t-shirt with the Black Flag logo on it, available at your local Walmart.

Downloaded this while heading into the wilderness and then listened to it a bunch more times over a few days because it was one of three albums on my phone. 3.5

when i first moved to the region i live now, i got stuck in a terrifying dangerous dirt-road snowstorm with only the voice of the 19yo on college radio playing a Songs About Television rock block to focus on as i spent two hours caaaaaaarefully navigating what in the summer would be a fifteen minute drive. all this to say, i have a soft spot for TV Party. the rest is not super my speed; all very samey, but hey, it's a debut album and i can't argue with 34 minutes. 2.5

I’m not going to say that I love this album but I do feel like I have to grade it on a bit of a curve compared to the rest of the punk on this list. Going into this project I had a guitar hero 3 level of understanding of punk and I thought I actually really liked it. Then I listened to all the punk bullshit on this list. You have to give this album credit because they actually care about sounding like real music instead of having their heads so far up their own asses they think completely deconstructed music is somehow the apotheosis of western music tradition. So props for not being assholes.

Punk Rock, 1981 -> 1

Das Album trifft mich eher als Zeitkapsel denn als Genuss. Die Wut ist echt, der Sound roh, aber vieles wirkt heute mehr wie ein chaotischer Schlag ins Gesicht als wie Musik, die ich freiwillig nochmal anmache.

An essential piece of hardcore punk. 4.5 bumped down to 4.

I’m at a 5. Just some good pained rage, really. Henry Rollins doesn’t have the most musical voice (and at times, he could definitely use a lozenge), but what he lacks in melody, he makes up for in spades with frustrated delivery. A lot of these tracks cover the woes of pained people & a desire to have that pain be seen, heard & perceived past the platitudes of the time. Whether it’s alcohol abuse, drug abuse, societal power dynamics & perception, or just the struggle of coping with constant suffering, this album lays it all out bluntly in a way that’s kind of impossible to ignore. Musically, while it’s a little bit reliant on walls of sound to create the backing atmosphere, when this album wants to turn up the guitar / drum work, it usually hits well, & I found myself enjoying most of the 35 minutes here. My biggest nitpick is that tracks do just abruptly end, though that might be a consequence of the streaming era not allowing the same flow as a vinyl might’ve had back then. I’m assuming the hard cuts on a record player would just go right into the next track in a slightly more satisfying way. The only track that didn't really hit for me on a first pass was “Room 13”, if only because it’s rather repetitive & it just isn’t as effective as portraying pain as the tracks surrounding it. Other than that track, I’d say everything else worked for me. It’s not a great album from a purely musical standpoint, as the lack of a more traditional structure throughout does leave a slightly homogenized effect on the album. However, if you can find the empathy to actually hear what Henry is saying & see this album as the reflecting mirror of people’s struggles that it intends to be, what comes out of it is engaging & really entertaining. I think the 2.86 on the site is frustrating, because it just shows people are judging this on the sound & not the content inside. Yeah, I’d probably give this a 3 too if I were just going off of how it sounds, but the entire package hinges on feeling these tracks & truly listening. I think they did a great job of doing that while balancing a decent sense of musicality to everything, and for my tastes, it’s a pretty easy 5.

My favorite thing about this album is that damaged ii comes four tracks before damaged i because who the fuck cares.

I liked this better than I expected to be honest. These are some amazing riffs, super fast and raw and I love the angry vocals. I’m just not sure if I’ll return to this a lot.

Very raw, sounds incredibly dated now. Just angry.

Henry Rollins is an angry man.

3.0

In the right mood, this is a fun album

Good punk album ..Rollins doing his thing.

I’ve learnt my lesson with hardcore punk, it’s a no from me

Sounds really good at start but my tolerance of this kind of stuff was filled around mid album. Not something i would listen to full album, but few songs here and there refreshens the day!

Kinda refreshing one on this listening project. Punk has never been my thing and this ensures this view while still being cool album to get familiar with.

#422 / 1089 Heard before? ❌ ✅ Revisit? ❌ ✅ First album with Henry Rollins doing the vocal duties. Music is very much US hardcore punk, while not exactly my thing, this band has similar vibes to the stuff I've listened to in the past. Easy 3/5, but not quite 4.

Good memories.

Sorry skater punks, this one is not for me. TV Party was juvenile fun though.

# Playlist Track - Rise Above # Notes - I can appreciate this. It has this raw, really grinding sound that works like kryptonite on old, conservative bores. Still, I don't *enjoy* it. - It's worth knowing, it's hugely influencial and you can be excused to think it just rounds like "regular angry teen" but this is one of the defining reasons angry teens sound like that. - Find this in the right moment in your life and your mind will be blown.

I like it

Great classic punk album! Love it!

I like a lot about this album. The guitar sound is great. Fast and to the point songs. Rise Above is a great opener, a classic punk anthem. And some of the themes were ahead of their time, specifically Depression, it’s not the lost nuanced, but I don’t think mental health was talked about much in 1981.

Punk en su máxima expresión, bastante digerible

Vissa bangers men rätt enformigt också

My name’s Henry and you’re with me now

not bad overall, good punk album

8/10

Teenaged me would have been all over this - bit much for me now 🤣

Seemed like good punk. Just not up my alley

C'est pas si pire mais torieux c'est sûrement le maximum que je peux supporter en terme de qualité d'enregistrement de marde. 2.5 étoiles

This was brilliant. It took the punk messaging against the establishment and both managed to praise and criticise anarchy- admitting that they in themselves are 'Damaged'. It's a brilliant record.

Cool, another punk album…

Naw

Decent

I'm ready to run through a brick wall (3.5)

Decent. A high 3

Damaged was certainly a wild ride from start to finish. This album reminds me a lot of GI by Germs in a lot of ways. This album knows how to get right to the point as these songs are only around 3 minutes and i also like how this album doesn't take itself too seriously especially in songs like TV Party where the lyrics are hilariously stupid in the best possible ways. I thought i was gonna have a problem with the mixing of this album when i scouted ahead a bit but for what it is, it sounds fine. My only real problem is that these songs can feel quite samey and there is 15 of them so that doesn't help matters. Even so, this album was definitely a fun ride. Best Song: TV Party Worst Song: Spray Paint

I can understand it's influence. You can hear it clearly in early Fugazi records, but not really for me.

Archetype punk music. I'm a fan Highlights: "Six Pack," "TV Party," "Police Story"

I wanna kick something but alas I am listening from my desk job

Knobs, load of rubbish

2.5 - Meh

This kind of rock is too aggressive for me.

Ahh. Punk rock at its punkiest. I remember “TV Party” was played on Dr Demento back in the 80s, but didn’t know anything else…

It’s just a bit shouty init. I’d probably enjoy it a bit more on another day

didn't even open it - black flag i am sure is awesome for those who like this genre - i appreciate them, but it's NOT my sound can't bear even a minute

This is me driving. I’m calm and collected until I’m not. It’s not anger but the sport of it all. All speed, determination, adrenaline…

Who knew nihilism could be so fun. '81 must have been a tough year.

Fucking badass record. Hardcore as fuck, cover is iconic, and the mix is......super quiet on spotify for some reason. Whatever, I just turned it up louder. Black Flag not only makes absolute ragers to thrash to, but also funny catchy (heavily distorted) pop tunes like "TV Party". Awesome. Henry Rollins is also cool

what you would expect from a hardcore album from the 80s

That's certainly noise.

never again. noise pollution

Henry Rollins can get it. I'm not as angry or as punk rock as I was 30 years ago when I first heard this album. It still stirs all the right emotions, though. I think this project is sending me on another mid life crisis because after listening to Damaged today, I told off one of my professors and I screamed at a wasp by my front door. I've been a nice, suburban substitute teacher for too long and I want to feel that angry fire again. Thanks Black Flag.

No compromise

It’s a thin line between hardcore punk and heavy metal.

Not my jam.

I liked it mostly, minor threat came on after and blew it out of the water

I could write a long post about the importance of this music for the future of punk, indie, and DIY. Its essential influence can’t be stated enough. I could write about a new intensity it brought to punk - expanding beyond political and social displeasure (though that’s included) to also include intense personal/emotional struggles, humor and satire, fury and anger [most were there previously, but not in the same directness and heaviness]. But I won’t do that. I’ll give you the image that runs through my head when I hear this album. Staring in the mirror, I rip my eyeballs out. I run straight through the wall of the second story of my house and pummel into the ground, creating a huge crater. Being unable to see, I throw my eyeballs and accidentally hit a grandma in a crosswalks. She falls, and while I aimlessly wander to go assist, an observing cop comes to beat me relentlessly with his baton. While I’m bloodied and bruised, a Mack truck proceeds to run us both over. This sets off the explosive in my pocket, blowing everything to dust. With nothing left, I casually stroll back inside, reinsert my eyeballs, and proceed with my day with renewed energy and vigor despite the world crumbling around me. If that’s not your experience when listening to this album, you’re not alive.

Classic album. Hardcore classic. 5/5

When I want hardcore punk, this is exactly what I'm talking about. They tackle vandalism, getting drunk, crooked cops, rebellion, depression, and psych wards, and they blaze through it all in less than 35 minutes. Of course, "TV Party" is an absolute classic and "Six Pack" was a total banger. Henry Rollins brings an insane level of raw, unhinged aggression on vocals that makes every single track feel dangerous. Greg Ginn's guitar work is just pure, messy chaos, yet it keeps the momentum moving at breakneck speed. It is abrasive, ugly, and totally uncompromising. This is the definitive blueprint for American hardcore, and it leaves you feeling exhausted in the best way possible. Favorite song: "Six Pack"

There's some anger in this one

He produces a lot of saliva. Very recorded in my parents garage core.

I get it, but it's so sloppy

No private session used for Spotify. Quintessential american punk.

Vrmt pas mon genre de musique :(

Six pack

Хз, достаточно разъебно, чтобы не ставить 3, но недостаточно запомнилось для 4. 3,5.

I can imagine a time and a place for punk, but in general it’s not very pleasant to listen to.

I see the influence, but not my music

They're like Rage Against the Machine, if Rage was a high school garage band, Zack hadn't yet had his voice change from puberty, and they sucked.

ça n'est pas possible, mais je ne peux pas, c'est pas mon style du tout.

No More was the standout. I appreciated how it started off slow before building into typical punk shite.

just sounds like yelling to bizarre sounds.

Strong 3,5

нормалек, но в свое время, видимо, были круче. (у дейва гроула тату с ними)

A ver como para escucharlo tranquilamente y agusto es horrible 🙉, solo que al ubicarlo en el 81 🤯 te das cuenta de lo imnovadir que era y como abrio un nuevo camino a la musika y pudo influir a posteriores bandas de punk y hard metal, de su lugar en la musika y en esta lista. Casi le doy un 3 solo es que... el Hard Metal... 🙈 aveces se podria catalogar de antimusika 🤢 aun asi, los hay buenos 🤏🏼 y muy malos 🤌🏼 No coincido muy biem con estos estilos 🤷🏻‍♂️

I think these guys are damaged. Decent Punk album

A good hardcore punk album. I enjoyed this. Kinda cool to see punk evolve to this harder style so long ago. I thought this was gonna be a more mid 80s style.

It’s giving Robbie from Gravity Falls

Tbh I didn't hate it. I even tolerated it

Blessedly short.

I am definitely not drunk/angry enough to enjoy this.

Awesome punk rock album from beginning to end

Not my favorite genre but I can telll it’s good for what it is

Pretty good!

Obviously very influential punk. Just some guys having a good time. How can you not listen to TV Party and have a good time.

It was okay for it's genre but nothing I prefer to listen to on a regular basis.

“The album was largely ignored by critics and the public at the time of its release, but has since been recognized as a classic and one of the most influential punk rock records ever made” -the Wikipedia page I think that says everything. This record is full of early punk bangers and deserves its flowers.

Day 278 Highlights Six Pack TV Party

The sequel band, Skull and Bones, did not do as well and costed the published millions of dollars

Punky Fave track: Six pack

Decent punk. 3/5

Plenty of thrash here, wasn't bad, but there's better out there.

Ive enjoyed this more on other occasions. Its clearly good. Maybe im not in the mood, maybe it doesnt feel as fresh Its good. Nothing against it lad. Good

Cracking punk thrash noise.

My issue with hardcore albums is that they tend to be one track played a dozen times with different lyrics. It's not bad, but I'll never pick it to play again

Meh

Listening to this I am immediately transported to a hot and sweaty room, my ears ringing the next day. It's energetic and angry, I liked it a lot. Favourites: Thirsty And Miserable Police Story No More Damaged I

3.75

I can appreciate their influence and appeal to punks but not melodic enough for me.

Not my cup of tea

Hugely influential Punk album. Quite aggressive and raw. I didn't like it very much. Key tracks: Thirsty and Miserable

I was expecting a 35-minute wall of ANGRY MAN YELLING. There was a fair amount of that, but it was understandable. It's not just a torrent of screaming. The drum work is SOLID. The guitar work is there, but it's rough and choppy and distorted, which is exactly what you expect from a punk album. What you don't expect is the frat-boy brattiness of "Six Pack" and "TV Party". You don't expect the juvenile litany of first-world problems. You DON'T expect how YOUNG Henry Rollins sounds. It's approachable punk and had me nodding my head at times. It's still not my style. My Rating: 4/5

Fun punk! Love Henry Rollins and this album sounds awful in a charming way. Just a little one note for me

#notforme but TV party will always slap

3/5 Timeless lyrics and raw instrumental energy brings the score up.

Great punk but I still just don’t really like punk

Gear: Grado Hemp Artwork: 🤜💥🪞 Production: 📏💩😖 Music: 🏎️😡🪧 Rating: 🏴🏴(🏴)/5

Well recorded for a very early 80s pink album. I totally get the energy here and I reckon the gigs were hardcore. Not my scene and while I don't really enjoy this, going to give it a 3 because did actually help me focus on some work tasks this morning.

This was such an interesting album to me. "Raw" and "Wild" are the words I want to use for the singing and instrumentals. I feel like it all worked together, though. Very different, but it oddly enough caught my ears.

Incredible album! Punk, but not just punk… heavy and emotional! Visceral!

A punk punch.

I can understand its influence on some of my favorite bands but couldn’t get all the way into it myself

Now more than just a reference in the updated Boys of Summer song. Not in a good way

Déjà écouté avant. Le punk hardcore dans sa plus pure expression, sans chichis, sans nuances, sans ornements. Juste un déchaînement brut de riffs stridents et d'aboiements primaux débités à toute vitesse pendant 35 minutes. Quitte à ce que le cocktail abrasion + répétition devienne carrément difficile à avaler à la longue. C'est une esthétique de la colère à laquelle on adhère ou pas, personnellement j'adhère plutôt, jusqu'à un certain point en tout cas. Top : Rise Above Flop : Room 13

Damaged is definitely the word. Crap.

Not a fan of punk really. An entertaining and biting record but it lacks any change of pace. Not bad but didn't convert me either

I imagine this was influential but just wasn’t for me

Liked it more than I suspected beforehand. I did like the more lighthearted ones better, like TV party. Seeing listener numbers, probably more people agree with that.

I feel like I've already had this record, though I can't be bothered to check now. It's raw. It's solid. It's pretty damn caustic.

Teenage me would have been all over this and whilst it's something different now, I don't think I vibe with it. It's not bad at all though, just no emotional connection. Almost feels like a radio station I'd change over immediately on GTA.

very punkish sound, kinda like it

Absofuckinglutely.

Guys, it’s bad on purpose. That’s the aesthetic.

Demasiado dark, no me gusto

Gets in, gets the job done, gets out. Loved it.

Like others, I wasn't looking forward to this when I read it, but, man, it was a great time. I had forgotten how good the rocking anarchist rage felt. Musicality aside, it is an exercise in early-Gen X-no fucks to give angst and I'm here for it. 4.

Not for me - all I heard was noise and yelling with a bit of drums and guitar.

I expected to like this one more than the last, however despite an OK start and some decent musicality, I found it really got a bit much by the end. Perhaps it's just because the Circle Jerks one was so short. I was willing this one to finish before the end.

A SoCal hardcore album two days in a row? Cool! I liked this one a lot better than I liked the Circle Jerks. Same sort of sound, but I think I like Henry's vocals a lot more. There's a certain diy ethic to this album as well. Genuinely a fan.

It’s funny to me that old punk music sounds like it’s just 1 take of the whole band and if there are any mistakes or mistiming, they just roll with it. “Hey your rolls and fills are kinda off time” nah keep it, that’s punk “Are you sure the melody fits in with the song?” Yeah man, that’s punk This album can feel a bit exhausting when listening to everything back-to-back. That said, this is iconic punk rock.

This feels like the true quintessential punk album. It’s got the right mood, the right lyrics, and the right production. It’s sounds like a bunch of angry, disenfranchised guys who just need an outlet for their frustration. They don’t always play or sing perfectly, but they capture the feeling of rage and fighting that we all experience from time to time. Must listen.

What is this feeling? This feeling of…kind of enjoying punk music? Don’t get me wrong, this won’t make it into my regular rotation. But, there is something oddly real about this album. This isn’t a whole album about “woe is me, life is bad, fuck the man”, it’s like 4 15 year olds made an album but didn’t try to make it anything more than that. The TV party song made me laugh out loud at the absurdity of it - why did you write a whole song about watching TV? No further meaning? The emotions and rawness come through on this album far more than others. The songs all have the same mood but there is variation in chords, structures, etc. so that it doesn’t drone on. I’m coming in with a 6/10 today, against all odds!

Not for me

Punk Rock is always good!

It was alright

Damaged de Black Flag es un álbum crudo, intenso y profundamente introspectivo. Más que música para escuchar casualmente, se siente como una descarga emocional llena de frustración, rabia y conflictos internos. Refleja el sufrimiento y las tensiones del día a día de forma directa y sin filtros. No es un disco para escuchar todo el tiempo, pero su fuerza y autenticidad lo convierten en una obra impactante. 5/5

Really a toss up between the Stooges and Ginn for the epitome of how a loud guitar should sound. Rollins has never really done much for me as a vocalist, although I used to enjoy this writing and spoken word stuff. Live footage from the jazz/sludge era really shows how much of a presence he was, not yet quite the cartoonish sack of self-loathing/worship he would soon become, but vocally, that just doesn’t come across nearly as hard as Ginn, Dukowski, even Robo for all his faults.

Nop

1001 albums to hear before you get real damage 78# gimme hardcore punk me like SCREAMINNN This band was a staple on Hardcore punk making one of the most important albums to the genre beginnings. It's frantic, high paced, seems dumb but has meaning, like on Six Pack, appears to be just screaming six pack cause it's funny, the meaning being a person who isolated himself becoming drink addict and believing that a six pack will just save him, even the six pack has more value than his girlfriend lol. Don't become an alcoholic. The deliver is always kind of funny and full of energy DAMAGE, MY DAMAGE i would love to see minor threat have a place in the list, but i don't believe it

Henry Rollins voice is the absolute epitome of the hardcore punk sound. Its that strained shouting voice that sounds frantic and almost unsure of what the next thing is that he is going to say. And it is clear to see that a number of hardcore punk bands like AFI and the vandals have been inspired by this style. The songs are loud and full of dirty thrash guitar. It almost feels like the vocals and the instruments are in a competition to see who can drown.the other out. It makes me think of clubs with cheap beer, plastic glasses and sticky carpets. So reminiscent of my student days. (3.850)

I don't think I've actually ever listened to this. Very rough around the edges. But so influential it's undeniable at this point.

Not my thing but sounds surprisingly modern

He keep screaming

Screaming about beer and TV

p478. 1981. 2 stars. Angry, unpleasant US punk that sets the template for later thrash metal. It doesn't mean it's any good though. Bonus point for keeping it short.

Pretty decent. It pains me to rate an album 2/5 after the awful German one that needed 0/0 stars.

Enjoyed this, but two listens is enough, given the plethora of bands that followed in that genre. Heard before ❌️ Listened this time ✅️ Revisit ❌️ Iconic ★★★☆☆ (6/10) Total reviewed : 295 Already owned : 68 Purchased : 15 To buy : 3 Nope : 209

I should be angry; really just feeling nothing.

Very fitting to get this album after ABBA. Felt like a breath of fresh air. Nothing fake about it. Listening to this makes you want to open a slightly warm beer while walking to a dusty concert with your friends who don't like to talk about jobs and relationships. Instead, they talk about the current affairs and what's wrong with the world. A bit too hardcore punk for me, but I will give it a listen again for sure.

This was horrendous. I did not have to listen to this before I die.

I only listened to this album for the first time six months before getting this on the list. I loved this album I think it’s the speed and aggression that hooked me in.

Edgy first song good

This has always been middle of the road punk for me. I’d go see it live but don’t put it on myself.

Solid album. Not always in a punk mood, but when I am, I can’t ask for much more.

I'm aware it's a landmark album and everything, but I just couldn't totally get into it.

High and low points. Classic punk sound but I do yearn for more punk messages lol also I have a headache so near the end it was getting rough