Black on Black: A Tribute to Black Flag

Various Artists (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 14, 2006)
• Original Release Date: March 14, 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Reignition
• ASIN: B000E5KUA6
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #259,365 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Some Good, Some Bad..., April 16, 2006

By	C. Brewer - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As far as tribute albums go, this one is okay (which is better than 98% of tribute albums). Most of the artists are pretty faithful to the originals, with Coalesce, Converge, and Playing Enemy putting their own spin on the songs. It's really easy to tell which bands are actually trying to pay tribute to the Flag and which ones just quickly put something together to get more exposure (why they'd do this on a tribute album is beyond me).

Rise Above - Most Precious Blood: I hear they play this one live alot and you can tell. It's very tight. It's a much more revved-up version of the original. One of the better covers on here.

Black Coffee - Zao: I'm not a Zao fan for many reasons. As for this cover, I feel while they add a darker tone to it the whole psycho edge has been removed (something common on this album). It's very well put together, but very bland.

My War - Bleeding Through: This guy can definitely scream, but he has no real feeling. He just doesn't sound as paranoid as Rollins. I was incredibly disappointed by this cover because I thought My War had a lot of potential as a cover song, but this guy sounds more like he's gonna beat you up more than plotting your murder. Sad.

I've Heard It Before - The Black Dahlia Murder: What the hell does this band have to do with Black Flag?! I'm sure the Flag has influenced their share of death metal, but you can't convinvce me these guys actually care about them. They seem half-interested while playing it.

Spray Paint - Remembering Never: These guys probably picked this short a song on purpose, to get exposure and move on as quick as possible. It shows.

Loose Nut - Drowningman: Something about the vocals bug me on this song. They're very one dimensional. They probably did this to be like Converge, who I know they idolize.

Depression - American Nightmare (or Give Up the Ghost if you prefer the stupid name): A very half-hearted cover. Too bad. I like these guys. They did much better covers on their Year One album.

Life Of Pain - Anodyne: Very boring. I like this song and I like these guys (I'm the only one I know who does), but this cover just puts me to sleep.

Drinking & Driving - Burnt By the Sun: Very good. Faithful. Energetic. I don't know if these guys are actually true fans but you can tell they put hard work into doing the song justice. Definitely one of the better ones.

Jealous Again - Coalesce: This was a bad choice for a cover. I really liked the solos on the original and to exclude them was very damaging to the song. A lot of the satirical tone from the original is lost in this translation.

Annihilate This Week - Converge: Most people would probably disagree on this one, but I definitely think this is the best song on the album. Converge just keeps the Black Flag feel and adds their own to it. The way they approach this song just feels like how Black Flag would approach a serious cover. Definitely a great listen.

Damaged, Pts. I & II - The Dillinger Escape Plan: Very tight. The lo-fi quality production gives it the feel of the originals. Part II very much feels just as heavy and psychotic as the original, which is the cover's strength and weakness. One might as well listen to the original version. Part I lasts only a minute before fading which makes me wonder why they decided to include it. Greg Pucciato does a great job at it, though.

Nervous Breakdown - The Hope Conspiracy: The vocals rock like hell, but the instrumentation is very half-assed.

Police Story/Wasted - Planes Mistaken For Stars: These guys have the same strength and weakness as D.E.P. But the dual vocals definitely make Police Story sound more schizophrenic.

Six Pack - Playing Enemy: Boring. Just boring. Doesn't even sound OR feel like the same song the Flag made.

Overall, okay. If you can download tracks 1, 9, 11, 12, and 14 you'd save yourself a lot of time and anger.