The First Four Years by Black Flag (Punk)

Pros: Some absolutely incredible hardcore punk songs here
Cons: Short album, some songs stink.

After writing several reviews of Black Flag's other albums, I've decided it's about time to review their collection of punk 7"'s. Black Flag, for those of you that don't know, is commonly thought of as the first "hardcore punk" band of all time (whether...

Pros: Quite simply tells it like it is. No sugarcoating done here.
Cons: Missing some crucial songs.

For every person there is a band that defines just who and what they are more than any other. This band for me was Black Flag.

Black Flag was one of the many early hardcore/punk bands in the blooming socal scene in the late 70's early 80's. A...

Pros: Not for poseurs
Cons: Not for poseurs

From Nervous Breakdown to Six-Pack Black Flag had a menacing quality to them that scared the cr*p out of you when you saw them live. Raymond Pettibone's fliers and album covers for the band revealed the hidden violence in the lives of what you would call...

Pros: It's dynamic, alive, and has a mind of its own.
Cons: Missing some crucial pieces -- "Police Story", "Depression"...

The summer I stumbled across 'The First Four Years,' I was sixteen or seventeen. I've never been what you might call a happy camper, but for some reason, during that time, I was positively seething with rage and hostility. (I think someone stole my hot...

Pros: High energy punk rock. Great songs, lyrics, music, etc.
Cons: none

Way back in 1998, when I had just started university in St. Andrews, Scotland, I had the crappiest taste in music. I was a real old metal-head with the long hair, tight jeans and white trainers. I was into Megadeth, Metallica, Testament(!), and other ...

Pros: Vicious, crude, and antisocial. Everything punk rock should be.
Cons: Only 26 minutes of fun

Collecting every song that Black Flag commercially released before "Damaged", "The First Four Years" is an essential document of early hardcore. Featuring three distinct singers, this compilation can sound like three different bands at times but is...

Pros: A true classic, incredible raw sound
Cons: at times, and i emphasize AT TIMES can be of somewhat poor sound quality for a studio album

What can I say? This is probably the best album from one of the most influential bands in all of punk-rock's stormy history. Obviously self-explanatory, this album chronicles the band's first four years, and it has become a classic to nearly all punk...