Black Flag — at least the Henry Rollins fronted version that most people associate with — won’t be reuniting, ever. Rollins doesn’t need the payday and has shown zero interest in playing music these days, favoring his acting and writing careers instead. But informed fans of the pioneering California hardcore act know that Rollins was one of a handful of vocalists that played in the band. One of those who preceded him was Ron Reyes, best known for his work on 1980′s Jealous Again EP. Though he may not have been as revered as Keith Morris or Dez Cadena, Reyes’ part on that seminal recording will forever grant the-artist-also-known-as-Chavo-Pederast a cache of street cred from hardcore purists.

So it’s pretty cool to learn that he reunited with Black Flag mastermind Greg Ginn at a Vancouver concert celebrating Reyes’ fiftieth birthday. The legendary guitarist joined Reyes and his backing band onstage to play a few tracks including “Jealous Again” (check out the video above) and “Revenge”. While there’s no indication that this is anything but a one-off gig, I suspect that fans would welcome a proper reunion tour from any incarnation of the band. With Morris busy with his new band OFF! (including an upcoming gig at the punk extravaganza known as Riot Fest) and Cadena playing in the current Misfits incarnation, a Reyes-fronted reunion with Ginn and any of the former rhythm section players could be pretty cool. Maybe Rollins could plug it in his Vanity Fair column!

-GS

As one of the chief riff providers for swaggercore titans Every Time I Die, Andy Williams takes pride in making the discordant into catchy. For a perfect example of this, look no further than the band’s latest (MetalSucks-approved) album, New Junk Aesthetic. Distilling the band’s decade-plus essence into a tight half hour, it’s a satisfying mix of thunderous heaviness and easily the most appealing material the band have put to tape. But while he’s often overshadowed by vocalist Keith Buckley’s relentless wiseassery, it’s his and Jordan Buckley’s Skynard-by-way-of-Dillinger-Escape-Plan guitar work that make the band stand out and ultimately worthwhile.

A self-described “chatty Cathy,” Andy Williams was remarkably frank and refreshingly earnest in a recent interview with MetalSucks on the eve of the release of New Junk Aesthetic. Among other things, he discussed why he can listen to the new album and none of the band’s other material, his thoughts on the new Converge record, the changing landscape of the scene he came up in, and life over at ETID’s new label, Epitaph.

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