Rollins Band

History

Before forming his own band, Henry Rollins sang for the Washington, D.C. punk act State of Alert from late 1980 to mid-1981, then for the California punk band Black Flag from 1981 to 1986. Black Flag never broke into the mainstream, but their relentless touring made them a cornerstone of 1980s punk. Within a year of Black Flag's end, Rollins was back with guitarist Chris Haskett, a friend from his D.C. teenage years, plus bassist Bernie Wandel and drummer Mick Green. This group cut two records: Hot Animal Machine, a Rollins solo credit with cover art by Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh, and Drive by Shooting, released under the name Henrietta Collins and the Wifebeating Childhaters. Their sound echoed Black Flag but leaned harder into heavy metal and funk.

Rollins then officially formed Rollins Band with Haskett, bassist Andrew Weiss, and drummer Sim Cain, both of whom had played in Gone, an instrumental band led by Black Flag founder Greg Ginn. Live engineer Theo Van Rock was often listed as a member. Critics Ira Robbins and Regina Joskow called this lineup a brilliant, strong ensemble, noting they played a jazzy, thrashy, swinging take on Jimi Hendrix rather than punk, blending loud guitar rock with inventive rhythm and borrowing only the better parts of metal. Rollins's tour diaries from this period, published by his company 2.13.61 as See A Grown Man Cry and Now Watch Him Die, documented the personal and creative clashes that led to Weiss's firing after the End of Silence tour.

The next bassist was Melvin Gibbs, a jazz and funk veteran recommended by Living Colour's Vernon Reid. Both Gibbs and Cain had played in different versions of guitarist Marc Ribot's band—Gibbs on Ribot's 1990 album Rootless Cosmopolitans, Cain on 1992's Requiem for What's His Name. The first video from 1994's Weight, "Liar," became a massive MTV hit, featuring Rollins in costumes like a cop and a nun. The band played Woodstock '94, and Rollins guest-hosted MTV shows including 120 Minutes.

Musical style and influences

Rollins Band blended alternative metal, post-hardcore, hard rock, and funk metal. Guitarist Chris Haskett credited King Crimson albums like Starless and Bible Black, Larks' Tongues in Aspic, and Red for shaping the early lineup. He described those records as heavy and dark, built on flatted fifths, extreme dynamic shifts, and collective improvisation—elements the band adopted. Later albums, including Weight, showed a clear jazz influence. In the early 1990s, the band stood alongside Tool, Jane's Addiction, Rage Against the Machine, and Green Jellÿ in the Los Angeles alternative metal scene. Henry Rollins' shout-singing style later influenced nu-metal and alternative acts such as Korn, Coal Chamber, Chevelle, Godsmack, and System of a Down. Pearl Jam has covered the Rollins Band songs "Tearing" and "Shine."