1982 Demos

Last updated

The Complete 1982 Demos
1982 Demos.jpg
Demo album by
Released1996 (self-released)
Recorded1982 (1-10 tracks)
1984 (11-16 tracks)
Studio Total Access
Genre
Length63:03
Label (self-released)
Producer Black Flag
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]

The Complete 1982 Demos is an unreleased set of demo tracks intended for a follow-up album to Black Flag's debut album Damaged (1981). The tracks recorded show the band moving in a riff-driven, heavy metal-inflected direction, away from the pure hardcore punk of the first album. Due to legal issues, the album was never recorded, though most of the tracks were re-recorded for later albums. Though never officially released, the recordings have been widely bootlegged.

Contents

A version of the album called "The Complete 1982 Demos Plus More!" exists, which includes a separate bootleg named "1984 Radio Tokyo Demos". These were recorded live on radio in 1984, as the name would suggest. The original Tokyo bootleg consisted of 5 songs, along with an interview, an intro, and an outro, bringing the total to 8 songs. However, only "I Love You", "My War", "The Swinging Man" and the interview were included on the re-release of the 1982 demos.

History

Following their debut album Damaged (1981), Black Flag underwent several personnel shifts and debuted a number of songs in their live shows. [2] In contrast to the straightforward hardcore punk of the debut, the new songs tended toward being slower in tempo with pronounced metal elements and included funk and jazz touches. [3] The band found themselves locked in a protracted legal battle with Unicorn Records, a subsidiary of MCA Records, who had distributed Damaged. A legal injunction prevented Black Flag from recording under their name, severely cutting into the band members' income.

Drummer Chuck Biscuits, tired of the group's legal battles, left in the winter of 1982 amid personal clashes and creative disagreements. [4] He was followed by guitarist Dez Cadena, who left in 1983 to form the band DC3. [5]

The recordings have never been officially released, but have been widely bootlegged. [2] Patrick Kennedy of AllMusic described this edition of Black Flag as "possibly their strongest lineup" and the demos as "the most visceral and brutal set of Black Flag recordings available". [1]

Recording

The band recorded demos of ten songs at the studio Total Access. [2] Recording and mixing took one night. [5]

Track listing

Standard Edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."What Can You Believe?" Dez Cadena 2:57
2."Yes, I Know"Cadena2:36
3."Slip It In" Greg Ginn 5:26
4."Modern Man" Chuck Dukowski, Ed Danky2:40
5."My War"Dukowski3:33
6."Black Coffee"Ginn5:04
7."Beat My Head Against the Wall"Ginn2:22
8."Can't Decide"Ginn5:22
9."I Love You"Dukowski3:32
10."Nothing Left Inside/Scream"Ginn, Henry Rollins 11:33
1984 Radio Tokyo
No.TitleLength
11."I Love You"3:33
12."My War"3:48
13."Interview"3:00
14."The Swinging Man"2:36
15."Three Nights"6:28
16."Wound Up"4:19

Personnel

The lineup for the recordings never played together on an official album. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Flag (band)</span> American hardcore punk band

Black Flag is an American punk rock band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. Initially called Panic, the band was established by Greg Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter, and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes in the band. They are widely considered to be one of the first hardcore punk bands, as well as one of the pioneers of post-hardcore. After breaking up in 1986, Black Flag reunited in 2003 and again in 2013. The second reunion lasted well over a year, during which they released their first studio album in nearly three decades, What The... (2013). The band announced their third reunion in January 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Misfits (band)</span> American punk band

The Misfits are an American punk rock band often recognized as the pioneers of the horror punk subgenre, blending punk and other musical influences with horror film themes and imagery. The group was founded in 1977 in Lodi, New Jersey, by vocalist, songwriter and keyboardist Glenn Danzig. Over the next six years, Danzig and bassist Jerry Only were the group's main members through numerous personnel changes. During this period, they released several EPs and singles, and with Only's brother Doyle as guitarist, the albums Walk Among Us (1982) and Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood (1983), both considered touchstones of the early-1980s hardcore punk movement. The band has gone through many lineup changes over the years, with bassist Jerry Only being the only constant member in the group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dez Cadena</span> American punk rock singer and guitarist

Dez Cadena is an American punk rock singer and guitarist. He was the third vocalist and later rhythm guitarist for hardcore punk band Black Flag from 1980 to 1983. Cadena played guitar with Misfits from 2001 to 2015, initially joining the band alongside Doyle, Jerry Only, and Robo for their 25th Anniversary Tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keith Morris</span> American singer

Keith Morris is an American singer and songwriter known for his role as frontman of the hardcore punk bands Black Flag, Circle Jerks, and Off!. Born and raised in Hermosa Beach, California, he formed Black Flag at the age of 21 with guitarist Greg Ginn and performed on the band's 1979 debut EP Nervous Breakdown. Shortly after leaving Black Flag in 1979, he formed the Circle Jerks with guitarist Greg Hetson; the band released seven albums between 1980 and 1995 and have broken up and reformed on numerous occasions. In 2009 Morris formed the supergroup Off! with guitarist Dimitri Coats, bassist Steven Shane McDonald, and drummer Mario Rubalcaba. Morris has also appeared as a guest vocalist on several albums by other artists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chuck Dukowski</span> American musician

Gary Arthur McDaniel, better known by his stage name Chuck Dukowski, is an American punk rock musician. He’s most well known for being the bass player and occasional songwriter for Black Flag.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robo (musician)</span> American drummer

Julio Roberto Valverde Valencia, better known by his stage name Robo, is a Colombian-American drummer. He came to prominence in the early 1980s with punk band Black Flag, and more recently has been a member of Misfits.

<i>My War</i> 1984 studio album by Black Flag

My War is the second full-length studio album by American punk rock band Black Flag. It was the first of three full-length albums the band released in 1984. The album polarized fans due to the LP's B-side, on which the band slowed down to a heavy, Black Sabbath-esque trudge after establishing expectations as a faster hardcore punk band on their first album, Damaged (1981).

<i>Damaged</i> (Black Flag album) 1981 studio album by Black Flag

Damaged is the debut studio album by the American hardcore punk band Black Flag. It was released by SST Records in November 1981.

<i>Everything Went Black</i> 1982 compilation album by Black Flag

Everything Went Black is a compilation album by the American hardcore punk band Black Flag. It was released in 1982 through SST Records. The compilation comprises early songs recorded before Henry Rollins became the band's vocalist in 1981, and was initially released without the group's name on its cover, due to their lawsuit with MCA/Unicorn. Instead, the names of the group members were listed on the first release.

<i>The First Four Years</i> 1983 compilation album by Black Flag

The First Four Years is a compilation album by the American hardcore punk band Black Flag. It was released in 1983 on SST Records. The compilation consists of all of the group's material released before Henry Rollins became the band's vocalist in 1981. It essentially collects the extended plays Nervous Breakdown (1979), Jealous Again (1980), Six Pack (1981), and the single "Louie Louie", with two tracks from various artists' compilation albums.

<i>Wasted…Again</i> 1987 compilation album by Black Flag

Wasted…Again is an album released by American hardcore punk band Black Flag in 1987 on SST Records. It is a "best-of" compilation released after Black Flag's breakup in 1986. It features various songs about drinking and beer from their discography.

<i>Jealous Again</i> 1980 EP by Black Flag

Jealous Again is the second EP by American hardcore punk band Black Flag, and the third-ever release on SST Records.

<i>TV Party</i> (EP) 1982 EP by Black Flag

TV Party is the fourth EP by American band Black Flag, released in 1982. It was self-produced with Ed Barton and originally released by SST Records on the 7" vinyl format. The title track is a satire of boredom, drinking and America's obsession with television; the original version was also released on the band's 1981 album Damaged.

Chuck Biscuits is a Canadian drummer best known for his work in several punk rock bands.

<i>Let Them Eat Jellybeans!</i> 1981 compilation album by Various Artists

Let Them Eat Jellybeans!, subtitled "17 Extracts From America's Darker Side", is a compilation album released by Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles in 1981. It was one of the earliest compilations of underground music in the United States and its original release included an insert of all of the punk bands known to be playing in the U.S. and Canada at that time. The first side of the LP features songs by a number of bands that formed the canon of American hardcore punk in the 1980s, while the second side features more of an art rock sound.

DC3 was an American rock and roll band formed by singer, songwriter and guitarist Dez Cadena in 1983 and active until 1988.

<i>Live at the On Broadway 1982</i> 2010 live album by Black Flag

Live at the On Broadway 1982 is a live album by the hardcore punk band Black Flag. The album features 2 separate live performances from the band performing at the On Broadway venue July 23–24, 1982. It is the only official Black Flag release to feature Chuck Biscuits on drums.

The Nig-Heist was a punk-comedy-shock rock band led by Steve "Mugger" Corbin, a roadie and live sound engineer for Black Flag and employee of SST Records. The Nig-Heist featured a revolving-door roster of members of the bands who were on tour with Black Flag at the moment. The band used to open for Black Flag on tour and recorded a 7", an LP and had tracks on compilations. They were notorious for their risqué stage antics, including band members playing naked, Mugger wearing a long-haired wig and insulting the crowd. Their songs were overtly vulgar and explicit in a funny way. Their motto was: "The band that cums in your mouth, not in your hands".

Overkill L.A. or SST Overkill is a hardcore punk/speed metal band started in 1980 in Los Angeles and which recorded two records on SST Records and some tracks on compilations. The band started as Overkill but they were rechristened Overkill L.A. by SST Records when they re-released their albums in the '90s and SST Overkill when they reunited in 2005.

References

  1. 1 2 "The Complete 1982 Demos (Plus More!)". AllMusic .
  2. 1 2 3 4 Chick 2011, p. 266.
  3. Chick 2011, pp. 266–267.
  4. Henry Rollins. Get in the Van: On the Road with Black Flag. 2.13.61 Publications, ISBN   978-1-880985-24-3
  5. 1 2 Chick 2011, p. 267.

Works cited