Black Flag
Damaged
Released on December 5, 1981, "Damaged" is the first album by American hardcore punk band Black Flag. At the time of its release, it received little attention from critics and the public, but it has since become a classic and influential punk rock record. It has appeared on numerous "best of" lists by fans and critics, including Rolling Stone's 2012 list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, where it ranked at number 340. Pitchfork also ranked it at number 25 on its list of the Top 100 Albums of the 1980s.
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Released on December 5, 1981, "Damaged" is the first album by American hardcore punk band Black Flag. At the time of its release, it received little attention from critics and the public, but it has since become a classic and influential punk rock record. It has appeared on numerous "best of" lists by fans and critics, including Rolling Stone's 2012 list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, where it ranked at number 340. Pitchfork also ranked it at number 25 on its list of the Top 100 Albums of the 1980s.
Prior to recording "Damaged", Black Flag had made several unsuccessful attempts to record a full-length album with different lead singers. Henry Rollins became the band's new lead singer just weeks before the album's recording sessions. The band recorded the instrumental tracks without Rollins, who later overdubbed the vocals with the help of band members Greg Ginn and Chuck Dukowski.
"Damaged" was recorded at Unicorn Studios in West Hollywood, where the band was living and rehearsing at the time. The cover art for the album features a photograph by punk photographer Ed Colver of Rollins putting his fist through a mirror, which was achieved by cracking the mirror with a hammer and using a mixture of red ink and coffee for the "blood" on Rollins's wrist. The photograph has been described as "iconic" in the pages of Artforum.