His thoughts are blunt and pretty flipping horrid at times. Overall, this is an incredibly painful and real portrait of Henry's life at the time. Henry could have made an outstanding horror novelist. And as you go further in the years, it only gets worse. They aren't pretty thoughts.killing the pigs, killing the fans, killing the pigs' families, mutilation of himself and others. Too add insult to injury, it's also hard to read the inner thoughts of a musician that you love who is so addled with loathing, depression, and violence. It's even harder to read that even despite that, being in the van and on the road and miserable is the only time that Henry ever really feels whole. It's insane and insanely hard to read how shitty the conditions were for a band that you absolutely love. Their shows are a mass of hatred and abuse (literal, they are attacked, urine thrown at them, etc) hurtled at them, they go hungry, they sleep in their bus or squat with fans. Black Flag is on the cover of magazines, Henry is considered a rockstar, and yet he lives in a shed when he is in LA. You also have to keep in mind that this was the punk scene throughout the 80s.

He literally gave everything he had to his music and performances that there was nothing left for himself or anything around him. No, the reason why it is such a hard read is that Henry's depression, self loathing and general hatred to the world is SO palpable that you can feel it wafting off the pages. It isn't the writing that makes it hard, however, I will say that it is all taken from Henry's journal entries so the flow is rough. I think this has been one of the hardest books that I have read in a long time. Rollins has also campaigned for human rights in the United States, promoting gay rights in particular, and tours overseas with the United Service Organizations to entertain American troops. He has hosted numerous radio shows, such as The Henry Rollins Show and Harmony In My Head, and television shows, such as MTV's 120 Minutes and Jackass, along with roles in several films.

Since Black Flag, Rollins has embarked on projects covering a variety of media. Following the band's breakup, Rollins soon established the record label and publishing company 2.13.61 to release his spoken word albums, as well as forming the Rollins Band, which toured with a number of lineups until 2003 and during 2006. band State of Alert in 1980, Rollins fronted the Californian hardcore punk band Black Flag from 1981 until 1986. Henry Rollins (born Henry Lawrence Garfield often referred to simply as Rollins) is an American singer-songwriter, spoken word artist, author, actor and publisher.Īfter joining the short-lived Washington, D.C.

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