Loose Nut

Had Black Flag not come from the Southern California hardcore punk underground and been releasing albums on their own punk-influenced SST Record label, they might have been considered more of a heavy-metal band. Tunes such as “Bastard In Love” and “Annihilate This Week” have firm roots in heavy metal’s bravado and crunch and singer Henry Rollins is one breast-beating powerhouse of a singer. But it’s the constant string mangling from guitarist Greg Ginn that separates Black Flag from the metal legions. His riffage comes close on “Loose Nut,” “Best One Yet” and “Sinking,” but his solos fly off the handle and sound like crazed free-jazz noodlings to the untrained ear. With each successive studio album, Black Flag were getting progressively more comfortable with the “tricks” available and Loose Nut is the first Flag album to sound like Rollins is processing his vocals and the guitars are being layered with care. What it lacks in live immediacy, it makes up for in variety.