Damaged Songs Ranked
Damaged is the debut studio album by the American hardcore punk band Black Flag. SST Records released it on December 5, 1981. The album was largely ignored by critics and the public at the time of its release but has since been recognized as a classic and one of the most influential punk rock records ever made, appearing on a number of “best of” lists by fans and critics alike. The album was ranked number 340 on Rolling Stone’s 2012 list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Pitchfork also ranked it number 25 on its list of the Top 100 Albums of the 1980s. Here are all of the Damaged songs ranked.
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10. Spray Paint
“0:33 minute long song. Dampened sound with feint cymbals. Black Flag is not a band for the weak stomach. Damaged is raw Black Flag (as if any of their other was NOT raw haha) and probably my favorite material.”
9. Damaged I
“At first I noticed the debt that this song owes to AC/DC…thought it had the riff from “Let there be rock”. It does…that kicks in around 14 or so seconds into the song, for a bit. But just recently, revisiting this song, the first 14 seconds, roughly, owes a debt to Led Zeppelin’s “Communication breakdown”. This might be the first time I’ve heard one song reference so explicitly more than one other song. Anyway, parts of this song have a heavy metal feel to them.”
8. Thirsty and Miserable
“Thirsty and miserable – buzzing guitar, interesting drum sound but it’s feint, unfortunately. Has a hard sound with a driving rhythm.”
See more: Black Flag Albums Ranked
7. TV Party
“Bassy intro. Brings to mind “Blister in the sun” for the guitar and vocal rhythm. Lispy singing again (not sure if Rollins is borrowing from Jello here…only have one album each from these guys). Backing vocals, handclaps. A tongue in cheek ode to tv.”
6. No More
“The bass guitar plucks at the start of this song are like the chiming bells in AC/DC’s classic “Hell’s bells”. Some of the riffing also brings to mind AC/DC. I like the “no more” bits of this which remind me of Queen. Drums have that basketball tone/rhythm to them.”
5. Police Story
“The guitar sounds heavy metal at times. Like the lyric “They hate us. We hate them. We can’t win”. Damaged is one of the most influential punk albums of all time. Henry Rollins takes over on lead vocals to help create one of the most celebrated Black Flag albums.”
See more: Black Flag Songs Ranked
4. Damaged II
“At first I noticed the debt that this song owes to AC/DC…thought it had the riff from “Let there be rock”. It does…that kicks in around 14 or so seconds into the song, for a bit. But just recently, revisiting this song, the first 14 seconds, roughly, owes a debt to Led Zeppelin’s “Communication breakdown”. This might be the first time I’ve heard one song reference so explicitly more than one other song. Anyway, parts of this song have a heavy metal feel to them.”
3. Six Pack
“Six pack – good bassy intro. Interesting drum pattern and tone at the start. Features backing vocals. Guitar sounds heavy metal at times. This album is a must for any person who would say they are into punk-rock.”
2. Depression
“The outro reminded me of AC/DC at times. Also has a hard, grinding guitar rhythm. Imagine the rawness, the simple fast catchiness of the Ramones. Now imagine it being even faster, harder, and louder. Imagine it being completely out of control, with extremely distorted guitar riffs and lyrics that explode from the singer’s throat.
1. Rise Above
“Rise above – has a catchy chorus and riff, and has backing vocals. Has that dampened sound quality I was talking about. Good guitar solo. Rise Above” so powerful. You hear all this anger and frustration, yet this song is the antecdote to every screwed up emotion on this album.”