"Rant-a-ta-tat": Black Flag - What the...

It's the 10th anniversary of BLACK FLAG's legendary comeback record "What the...", so is there any record more suitable to shit on today? I don't think so.

This record became "legendary" due to many reasons, but not one is that of high quality. "What the..." probably takes the cake for "most unnecesarry comeback record ever". I'll shy away of getting to deep into BLACK FLAG's legacy, just do your Hardcore history lesson yourself, ey?! They arguably were one of the bands in the 80s to shape the form of Hardcore in a near visionary kind of way. I'd especially break it down to their first two LPs "Damaged" and "My War", that were both ahead of their time with their aggression, their imaginative songwriting, their Sludge-iness, Rollins' screams, and all the insanity that was taking place. They then broke up in 1986 and sure they played some reunion gigs in the 2000s and 2010s... but it was in 2013, when they announced their official reunion with a new full length.

A lot was already said about the quality of "What the..." back then. It was shattered with harsh reviews and reactions front to back. But is it really that bad? I'd say yes and no. If this would be a debut album by an unknown band it'd have probably received average ratings. But damn, it's one of if not the most legendary Punk-band ever. If you do a comeback record, make sure it's of high quality or just stay away from doing it. While it doesn't quite ruin their legacy, it really is a bad, tiring, dull, and extremely monotonous record. Damn, these 44 minutes hurt bad. 

You basically know the record after the first track, but they just keeping going for 21 more songs of the same old. While I don't know how this project came together, the only remaining FLAG founding member Greg Ginn was the one playing the guitar and the bass, so I assume these songs were his songs. At certain moments you hear some of Ginn's trademarks in his playing and he is also the one sticking out with some imaginative guitar playing, but damn, he's also the one who's sucking any life out of the record. The guitars are too high in the mix, the drums are a joke and the pseudo-progressive style of Ginn annoys the shit out of me. There's no such thing as "songwriting" recognisable here, at least for most parts. When Ginn gives the whole construct some much needed space, it works a few notches better, like on the track "Lies". 

The guy who's singing is the most unspectacular FLAG singer up to this point, Ron Reyes, who joined the band after Keith Morris left for a short stint. Reyes is pretty much non-existent on "What the...", as for once his voice is not very distinctive and secondly, he's buried in the mix anyway. However, his vocal performance is not the worst thing he did for FLAG's comeback record, cause this guy also designed the horrible artwork. I could possibly write a whole article about this artwork, but I'll try to keep it short. Is it cool, beautiful or anything nice? NO, definitely NO. I mean, do you have eyes in your head? Does it suit FLAG's oh-so-important art style up to this point? NO WAY! But... does it fit the record's quality? YES. YES. YES. In hindsight that's what makes this record even more legendary. They were able to produce the most unnecessary comeback record in Punkrock history AND gave it one of the most horrible artworks in Punkrock history. 

On top: They gave this album a tongue-in-cheek title for the books. Cause sure, after all that, everyone was asking "What the... fuck?". So if this BLACK FLAG comeback record was planned as a big, cohesive meme they were firing on all cylinders. Maybe they once again were ahead of the time, or were memes already a thing back in 2013?