10 Rock Music Acts Who Peaked With Their First Album

5. Blag Flag - Damaged

For Blag Flag, it's a tough call to choose their best studio album, with Damaged and My War both exceptional records from the California outfit. Then there's the brilliant compilation offering of The First Four Years, which is a nearly flawless collection.

If push comes to shove, most Black Flag fans will tend to lean towards the group's debut effort, Damaged, as just edging out as the band's finest album to date.

Given the extremely passionate fanbase of Black Flag, it's tough to get a definite majority answer on this topic, but hey, Damaged gets the nod from your writer here. There's a special kind of energy and explosiveness to Damaged's 15 tracks, as nicely highlighted by the fact that those 15 tunes clock in at a cumulative 35 minutes.

An aggressive guitar sound, and a just as aggressive Henry Rollins providing vocals, on tracks like Rise Above, TV Party, and Rise Above make for a compelling listen that make you feel a part of something. Not just is it visceral, powerful, raw energy that makes Damaged - and Black Flag, period - so special, but there's also those layers of satire, retrospection and self-deprecation that lie underneath that distinct angsty punk front.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.