Day After Day is an ambitious attempt to write about a song every day in 2024 (starting on Jan. 4).
Rise Above (1981)
It can't be easy being the fourth singer in a beloved band, but when 20-year-old Henry Rollins had the chance to become the frontman for Black Flag in 1981, he didn't hesitate.
He had already been a part of the D.C. hardcore scene, singing occasionally with the Teen Idles and Bad Brains before singing for the short-lived band State of Alert (S.O.A.). He became a fan of Black Flag and when they were on the East Coast, he jumped up on state and sang a song with them. Their current vocalist, Dez Cadena, was looking to switch to guitar and the band, impressed with Rollins' singing, asked him to audition. Encouraged by his friend Ian MacKaye, Rollins tried out and was hired. He gave up his job slinging ice cream and moved to Los Angeles with the band.
Black Flag had already had Keith Morris, Ron Reyes and Cadena as singers and released a bunch of singles, but they hadn't released a full-length album yet. They'd had a few attempts that didn't work out with the other singers. The band recorded backing tracks without Rollins, who overdubbed his vocals afterward. Rollins wasn't a trained singer, but his powerful bellow propelled the music to new heights. Guitarist and band leader Greg Ginn wrote most of the songs, including "TV Party," "Six Pack" and album opener "Rise Above," which became one of the defining songs of the hardcore era.
"Rise Above" opens with a descending guitar line before the pulverizing riff kicks in and Rollins launches into the song's rallying cry.
"Jealous cowards who try to control/Rise above, we're gonna rise above/They distort what we say/Rise above, we're gonna rise above/Try and stop what we do/Rise above, we're gonna rise above/When they can't do it themselves/Rise above, we're gonna rise above/We are tired of your abuse/Try to stop us, it's no use."
The song builds an us-against-them sense of community, railing against the narrow-minded norms of society at large that marginalizes anyone who looks or acts differently. Rollins was an effective frontman, super-intense and aggro, railing against society and perfectly willing to throw down with anyone in the audience who pushes him too far.
"Society's arms of control/Rise above, we're gonna rise above/Think they're smart, can't think for themselves/Rise above, we're gonna rise above/Laugh at us behind our backs/Rise above, we're gonna rise above/I find satisfaction in what they lack/Rise above, we're gonna rise above."
The album was relatively ignored by the press at the time, but in retrospect has become revered as one of the most important hardcore albums ever. It veered from the intensity of "Rise Above," "Damaged I" and "Depression" to the less serious "TV Party" and "Six Pack." Ginn's electrifying guitar work was another factor that set the band apart.
After Damaged, Black Flag dealt with multiple personnel changes: bassist Chuck Dukowski was pushed out and Kira Roessler replaced him, while there were several drummers. Legal disputes with the band's label Unicorn Records resulted in an injunction that prevented Black Flag from releasing another album until 1984, when they would release three full-length albums on Ginn's label SST. Rollins and Ginn remained the constants in the band, but relentless touring and in-band tensions led to Ginn finally ending Black Flag in 1986.
Rollins went on to become a writer and actor and led his own group called the Rollins Band. Ginn played with multiple bands over the years and held a few Black Flag reunions. The band reformed in 2013 with Ginn, Reyes and Gregory Moore on drums (as well as "Dale Nixon" on bass, which was a pseudonym used by Ginn). The resulting album, What The..., was not well received. Pro skater Mike Vallely took over as the band's singer. In recent years, the Vallely and Ginn-led Black Flag has been touring.
Black Flag was one of the most influential punk bands, with the group's logo becoming iconic. I don't have any desire to see a Vallely-fronted Black Flag, but the early albums like Damaged and The First Four Years comp are indispensable.
No comments:
Post a Comment