Henry Rollins confirms new musical project with Ian MacKaye
Former Black Flag leader Henry Rollins has confirmed a new musical project with fellow hardcore icon Ian MacKaye.
The duo have been best friends since they were 12 years old, and grew up together in the punk scene in Washington with Rollins going on to front Black Flag while MacKaye founded Minor Threat and Fugazi.
Now, Rollins has revealed that they have finally teamed up. Notably, this project would mark the first time that he has released any new music in more than 20 years with his focus now primarily being his spoken-word career.
In a new post on his website, Rollins shared with fans: “Weeks ago, I journeyed it to DC in order to work on a great project. Ian MacKaye and I went to Inner Ear Studios, where we made our first records decades ago and mixed a four song session with the great Don Zientara at the board.”
He also reflected on the immense history attached to Inner Ear Studios, sharing, “This is the same studio, where the Teen Idles, Minor Threat, Bad Brains, and many others recorded. It was amazing to be back there with Ian and Don.”
Rollins continued, “Part way through the mix, none other than Eddie Janney, he of the Untouchables, Rights Of Spring, One Last Wish, Happy Go Licky, Skewbald and other great bands joined us. The session benefited greatly by his presence.”
He promised to keep fans up to date with more details of the project when he can, adding, “As to the tracks, I had them mastered several days ago, and I’m now working on the layout and design for the record. When it’s ready, I’ll let you know. We are extremely excited by this one.”
It remains unclear whether Rollins and MacKaye have plans to release a full-blown album, or whether it’ll be the four songs recorded at the session that see the light of day.
In 2021, Rollins insisted he was retired from music, telling Rick Rubin on the Broken Record podcast, “The smart thing I did as a younger man was one day I woke up in my bed and I went, ‘I’m done with music. I don’t hate it. I just have no more lyrics. There’s no more toothpaste in the tube.”
Then, in 2023, he doubled down on these comments, revealing that he couldn’t foresee any circumstance where he performs music live again. He shared, “My manager flipped out, but I’ve never looked back. I didn’t want to become a human jukebox playing old songs, so I filled the space the band took with films and TV and now my shows, my radio show and writing. At this point, I wouldn’t go back on stage with a band for anything.”
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