Slip It In

Black Flag: Henry Rollins (vocals); Greg Ginn (guitar); Kira (bass); Bill Stevenson (drums).
Additional personnel: Suzanne Gardner, Dave Claassen (background vocals).
Recorded at Total Access, Redondo Beach, California.
1984's SLIP IT IN is the album that forever polarized Black Flag's audience. Many of the band's fans in the California-based hardcore scene felt that this album was a slap in the face to speedy, ultra-streamlined punk. Straight-edge punks, who forswore drink, drugs and sex, were particularly outraged by the near-pornographic title track. On the other hand, the album's lumbering tempos, heavy guitar solos, lengthy songs and dinosaur-strength attack were all incredibly influential in the Pacific Northwest's punk scene. It's hard to imagine Green River or any other early Seattle bands embracing this Vanilla Fudge/Blue Cheer brand of metal without Black Flag's example, and so you could make a case for SLIP IT IN as the first true grunge album. Your reaction to this album will depend on whether or not you think this is a good thing.