List of works by Henry Rollins

Henry Rollins (born Henry Lawrence Garfield; February 13, 1961) is an American musician, author, spoken word performer, actor, and independent publisher recognized for his contributions to punk rock, literature, and multimedia performance.^[1][2]
Rollins rose to prominence as the lead vocalist of the hardcore punk band Black Flag from 1981 to 1986, contributing to seminal albums such as Damaged (1981) and In My Head (1985), before forming the Rollins Band, which achieved mainstream success with the 1994 album Weight and its single "Liar."^[1]
His oeuvre extends to extensive spoken word tours and recordings addressing personal anecdotes, social issues, and cultural critique; dozens of books encompassing poetry, essays, journals, and memoirs published through his 2.13.61 imprint; acting appearances in films like Heat (1995) and television series such as Sons of Anarchy (2009); and hosting roles on radio (Harmony in My Head, 2004) and television (The Henry Rollins Show, 2006–2007).^[1][3]
Notable achievements include a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Get in the Van: On the Road with Black Flag (1994), underscoring his influence in transforming raw punk energy into introspective, narrative-driven artistry across diverse formats.^[1]

Discography

Releases with State of Alert

State of Alert (S.O.A.), a hardcore punk band active from late 1980 to early 1981 in Washington, D.C., featured Henry Garfield (later Henry Rollins) as lead vocalist alongside guitarist Michael Hampton, bassist Wendel Blow, and drummer Simon Jacobsen. The group recorded material reflecting the raw, aggressive style of the early D.C. hardcore scene, emphasizing themes of social unrest and personal frustration. S.O.A. disbanded after Rollins departed to join Black Flag in 1981, limiting their output to a single contemporary release and later archival material.^[4] The band's primary release is the No Policy EP, a 7-inch vinyl record issued in 1981 by Dischord Records (catalog number Dischord 2). This four-track EP, pressed initially in limited quantities including green transparent vinyl variants, captures the band's live energy with short, intense songs clocking under two minutes each: "The Public Defender", "Stepping Stone", "Mathematical", and "No Policy". Recorded at Inner Ear Studios, it exemplifies the DIY ethos of Dischord's early output, with production handled by Ian MacKaye.^[5][6] An earlier demo session from December 29, 1980, featuring five tracks ("Disease", "Public Defender", "Stepping Stone", "Warzone", and "Camouflage"), remained unreleased until 2014, when Dischord issued it as the First Demo 12/29/80 7-inch EP. This posthumous release preserves the raw rehearsal-like quality of the recordings, providing additional insight into the band's formative sound with Rollins' vocals.

Releases with Black Flag

Henry Rollins joined Black Flag as lead vocalist in August 1981, replacing Dez Cadena, and remained with the band until its breakup in January 1986.^[7] During his tenure, Black Flag released seven studio albums and several EPs, primarily through SST Records, shifting from hardcore punk toward post-hardcore and heavy metal influences.^[8] These works featured Rollins' intense, shouted vocal style, often addressing themes of alienation, anger, and societal critique.^[9] The compilation The First Four Years includes tracks with Rollins alongside earlier vocalists.^[8] Live recordings such as Live '84 (1984) also feature Rollins but are omitted here as the focus is on studio and EP releases.^[8]

Solo music releases

Henry Rollins initiated his solo music career immediately after Black Flag's disbandment in 1986, producing raw, noise-infused rock material distinct from his subsequent band efforts.^[10] These releases featured sparse instrumentation, emphasizing Rollins' aggressive vocals and lyrics over structured songwriting, with guitarist Chris Haskett contributing on the debut album.^[11] Both projects were self-produced on Rollins' own Texas Hotel imprint and later reissued together in compilations, reflecting their transitional role between punk band dynamics and Rollins' later full-band explorations.^[14] No additional solo music releases followed, as Rollins shifted to the Rollins Band for subsequent rock output.^[15]

Releases with Rollins Band

The Rollins Band, formed by Henry Rollins in 1987 following the end of Black Flag, was a rock group that incorporated elements of hardcore punk, alternative metal, and post-hardcore over its nearly two-decade existence until 2006.^[16] The band's core output consisted of seven studio albums, released primarily through independent and major labels such as Texas Hotel, Imago, and DreamWorks, reflecting lineup changes including guitarists Chris Haskett and Jim Wilson, bassist Melvin Gibbs, and drummers Sim Cain and Chris Williams.^[17] These recordings emphasized Rollins's intense vocal delivery and themes of personal struggle, alienation, and aggression.^[18] The studio discography is as follows: ^{[18] [19]} Other notable releases included the live album Turned On (1990), singles such as "Tearing" (1992) and "Electro Convulsive Therapy" (1993), and later session outtakes like End of Silence Demos (2002).^[20][19] The band achieved modest commercial success, with Weight reaching number 33 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, driven by tracks like "Liar."^[18]

Releases with Wartime

Wartime was a one-off experimental side project by vocalist Henry Rollins and musician Andrew Weiss, the latter of whom composed and performed the music following the Rollins Band's album Hard Volume.^[21][22] The project's only release is the EP Fast Food for Thought, issued in 1990 by Chrysalis Records in formats including CD, cassette, and promotional vinyl.^[23]

Spoken word albums

Henry Rollins released his debut spoken word album, Short Walk on a Long Pier, in 1985, featuring live recordings of his early performances. Subsequent releases expanded on this format, often documenting live shows with raw, unaccompanied narration covering topics such as urban life, personal rage, and cultural critique. Many were initially issued on cassette or vinyl through independent labels before later CD reissues via Quarterstick Records or his 2.13.61 imprint.

Spoken word videos

Henry Rollins has produced multiple video releases documenting his live spoken word performances, which typically feature extended monologues on personal experiences, social observations, and cultural critiques delivered without musical accompaniment. These recordings originated from tours and one-off shows, initially distributed on VHS in the 1990s before transitioning to DVD formats in the 2000s.^[35][36] The following table lists his principal spoken word video releases chronologically by initial commercial availability:

Audiobooks

Henry Rollins has narrated several audiobooks, including adaptations of his own writings and contributions to full-cast productions of works by other authors. His narrations often feature his distinctive intense delivery, suited to gritty narratives in genres like westerns, horror, and music history.^[47]

• Get in the Van: On the Road with Black Flag (1994): Rollins wrote and narrated this autobiographical account of his time with Black Flag, drawing from tour diaries spanning 1981–1986; it earned the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album (including poetry, audio books & music) at the 37th Annual Grammy Awards.^[48][49]
• 3:10 to Yuma (2005): Short story by Elmore Leonard, co-narrated by Rollins alongside David Strathairn, Tom Wopat, and William Atherton in a dramatic audio adaptation emphasizing tension in the Old West.^[49]
• World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War (2006, complete edition 2013): Rollins voiced the character T. Sean Collins, a mercenary, in Max Brooks's episodic novel, part of a full-cast production featuring actors like Alan Alda and Mark Hamill.^[50]
• The History of Rock 'n' Roll in Ten Songs (2014): Narrated Greil Marcus's analytical exploration of rock music through key tracks and cultural context, leveraging Rollins's background in punk and hardcore.^[51]
• Under the Big Black Sun: A Personal History of L.A. Punk (2016): Co-narrated by Rollins and a full cast including Exene Cervenka in John Doe and Tom Desavia's oral history of the Los Angeles punk scene from the 1970s to 1980s.^[52]

Rollins has also contributed to collections like The Complete Western Stories of Elmore Leonard (2009), voicing segments alongside other narrators.^[53]

Guest appearances and collaborations

Rollins provided additional vocals, credited as Henry Garfield, on Minor Threat's First Demo EP released in 1981. He contributed background vocals to the track "Bottom" on Tool's debut album Undertow in 1993. In 1995, Rollins performed vocals on "Piss-Bottle Man" for Mike Watt's Ball-Hog or Tugboat?. He served as narrator on "Hendershot" for Les Claypool's Highball with the Devil in 1996. Rollins appeared as a featured vocalist on "Come On Waleed" from Damian Cowell's Disco Machine's Get Yer Dag On! in 2017.^[54]

Publications

Books

Rollins self-published his first books in the mid-1980s through his imprint 2.13.61 Publications, initially as limited-run zines compiling poetry, prose, and personal reflections often drawn from his experiences in punk music and daily life.^[55] These early works, such as 20 (1984) and the Two Thirteen Sixty-One series (1985), featured raw, confrontational writing without ISBNs in many cases due to their underground distribution.^[55] Over decades, Rollins expanded into travel journals documenting band tours and solo travels, music essays, and compilations of his LA Weekly columns, with publishers including Creation Press for UK editions and Chicago Review Press for select titles.^[55] By the 2010s, outputs included multi-volume series like Stay Fanatic!!! on music obsessions and Before the Chop collecting journalism.^[55] His 2022 book Sic, comprising writings from 2019–2021 amid global restrictions, addresses themes of anger, humor, and personal loss, including reflections on the 1991 murder of friend Joe Cole.^[56][57] The table below enumerates his books chronologically, drawing from a detailed catalog of his output; many early titles remain rare due to limited printings and exclusion from later compilations.^[55]

Essays and columns

Henry Rollins contributed essays and columns to various publications, focusing on themes such as music, personal discipline, societal critique, and global travel. His writing often drew from firsthand experiences, emphasizing self-reliance and cultural observation without deference to prevailing narratives. A prominent example is the essay "Iron and the Soul," published in Details magazine in 1994, which contrasts the rigors of weightlifting with the perceived ease of drug use, arguing for the transformative power of physical and mental endurance.^[58] Rollins wrote a weekly column for LA Weekly from August 2010 until December 2017, addressing music, politics, and international affairs, such as critiques of government policies and dispatches from travels in Asia and Europe.^{[59] [60] [61]} He also penned columns for Rolling Stone Australia, extending his commentary on music and culture.^[59]

Film and television

Feature films

Rollins typically portrayed authoritative or antagonistic figures in these films, leveraging his intense persona from music and spoken word performances.^[69]

Television appearances

Rollins hosted the independent film discussion series Henry's Film Corner on IFC from 2004 to 2005.^[70] He served as the host for the horror anthology Night Visions in 2001, introducing episodes featuring segments directed by figures such as Bill Pullman.^[71] In 2002–2003, he hosted the engineering competition show Full Metal Challenge on the Learning Channel, overseeing teams building and battling vehicles.^[69] From 2006 to 2007, Rollins hosted The Henry Rollins Show on IFC, a variety program blending talk, music performances, and comedy sketches with guests including Iggy Pop and Peaches.^[72] He appeared as the recurring character A.J. Weston, a white supremacist gang leader, in the second season of Sons of Anarchy (2009), with his role concluding by the season's end.^[73] Rollins made cameo appearances as himself in MTV's Jackass series and the Showtime comedy Californication.^[74] He also hosted episodes of MTV's alternative music program 120 Minutes.^[75] In documentary-style series, he narrated and discussed topics in 10 Things You Don't Know About (2012–2014).^[76]

Video games

Rollins voiced the titular protagonist, Mace Griffin, a bounty hunter navigating interstellar conflicts, in the 2003 third-person shooter Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter, developed by Golem Factory and published by DreamCatcher Interactive.^[77][78] The casting leveraged Rollins' intense persona to suit the character's rugged, no-nonsense demeanor as a former military operative turned freelancer.^[79] In the 2004 hip-hop wrestling video game Def Jam: Fight for NY, published by EA Games, Rollins portrayed himself as a gym trainer and playable fighter, located at Stapleton Athletics, where the protagonist learns grappling techniques, kickboxing, and submissions from him.^[80][81] His signature "Blazing Move," named 2.13.61 after his birthdate, involves a powerful slam, and he serves as a tutorial instructor early in the game before becoming an opponent in story mode gauntlets.^[82] Rollins reprised his self-voiced role as the trainer and playable character in the 2006 sequel Def Jam Fight for NY: The Takeover, expanding on the underground fight circuit mechanics while maintaining his function as a skill-upgrading mentor.^[83]

Music videos and shorts

Rollins fronted music videos primarily for his band the Rollins Band, spanning their albums from Life Time (1988) to Get Some Go Again (2000), often featuring intense live performances or narrative elements depicting urban alienation and personal struggle.^{[85][86][87][88][89][90][91][92][93]} Guest appearances include a cameo as Vanilla Ice in 3rd Bass's "Pop Goes the Weasel" (1989), satirizing commercial rap trends.^[69] Shorts encompass music-adjacent promotional and documentary pieces, such as the 1994 MTV short on the Rollins Band's Weight album studio sessions, capturing raw recording dynamics.^[95] A 2004 short documentary Deathdealer stars Rollins in a narrative of job dissatisfaction and existential drift.^[96] In 2016, he appeared in the rock-themed short Gutterdämmerung, blending heavy metal motifs with apocalyptic visuals.

Other media

Radio shows

Rollins hosted Harmony in My Head, a two-hour weekly music program on Los Angeles station Indie 103.1 FM, which aired from 2004 until the station's alternative rock format ended on January 15, 2009. The show featured Rollins-curated playlists spanning punk, rock, and other genres, with episodes often including commentary on tracks and artists. A book compiling song lists and notes from the program was published by Rollins' 2.13.61 imprint in 2006.^[97] Following the conclusion of Harmony in My Head, Rollins began hosting a weekly music show on KCRW, an NPR affiliate in Santa Monica, California, with broadcasts documented as early as 2015 and continuing through 2025. The untitled program, aired Sundays, presents nearly two-hour mixes of music "from all kinds, from all over and all time," including punk, jazz, country, and obscure international tracks, accompanied by Rollins' spoken introductions. Episodes are numbered sequentially (e.g., Broadcast #863 on October 18, 2025) and archived online, with playlists detailed on Rollins' official website.^{[98][99][100]} In April 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Rollins launched The Cool Quarantine as a four-hour online extension in collaboration with KCRW, featuring extended storytelling, music selections, and personal reflections rather than standard mixes; the first episode aired on April 7, 2020. This format supplemented his regular KCRW broadcasts during lockdowns but was not a permanent replacement.^[101][102]

Podcasts and interviews

Henry Rollins co-hosts the podcast Henry & Heidi with Heidi May, which debuted in 2015 and features discussions on music history, personal experiences, and cultural figures, often drawing from Rollins' career in punk and hardcore scenes.^[103][104] Episodes are released irregularly, with topics including record store owner Skip Groff (April 24, 2019), Black Sabbath's Ozzy Osbourne, Motörhead's Lemmy Kilmister (August 29, 2018), and Rollins' Black Flag album My War.^[105] By 2019, the series had produced at least 24 episodes, emphasizing archival audio and storytelling over frequent production due to Rollins' touring schedule.^[106] Rollins also hosts Tough Conversations with Henry Rollins, a Spotify-exclusive series launched around 2023, in which he conducts interviews and reflections on resilience and hardship while traveling through Australia.^[107] The format prioritizes unscripted, intense dialogues that probe personal and societal definitions of "toughness," evolving from earlier concepts in Rollins' spoken-word performances.^[107] As a guest, Rollins has appeared on prominent podcasts, including two episodes of The Joe Rogan Experience (#906 on January 26, 2017, and #1155 on August 10, 2023), where he discussed music, travel, and his Showtime special Keep Talking, Pal.^[108][109] Additional appearances include Hot Ones for an extended interview format and The Vinyl Guide (episode 461, August 27, 2024), focusing on record collecting and his Stay Fanatic!!! book series.^[110][111] These guest spots, totaling over 40 documented episodes across platforms, often highlight Rollins' insights into punk history and independent media, though he prioritizes hosting roles for deeper narrative control.^[110]