CRO-MAGS Are 'Almost Done' With New Album: We Have 'Nine Songs Tracked And Six More Songs' Written

In a new interview with WSOU 89.5 FM, CRO-MAGS frontman Harley Flanagan spoke about the progress of the songwriting and recording sessions for the band's upcoming studio album. The follow-up to 2020's "In The Beginning" will follow the release of the CRO-MAGS' first new song in six years, "Wired For Chaos", which was made available in June.

"We're almost done with the new album," Harley revealed (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). "So we have something that should be [released], I'd say, early next year. I don't know when exactly. But we got nine songs tracked [and] six more songs written that we're gonna be tracking in a couple weeks… I always try to get a couple of extra in there, so six will probably turn into eight."

Regarding the musical inspiration for the new CRO-MAGS material, Harley said: "It's everything I grew up on. I'm always evolving, but it's all those same ingredients. I mean, you got some MOTÖRHEAD, you got some BAD BRAINS, you got some DISCHARGE, you got all that stuff whipped up, some [BLACK] SABBATH. Everything heavy that I grew up listening to has always found a way to sneak into my music. All those things."

According to Harley, "Wired For Chaos" "was part of the session for the new album. So that will give you kind of a reference to where the direction of this album has started," he explained. "I actually recorded 'Wired For Chaos' and the other eight songs all together. So it's a continuation of that same session. So you can expect more of that."

Elaborating on his songwriting process, Harley said: "Well, I really don't have a set way. I come up with riffs all the time. Sometimes when I'm walking around, I record them on my phone. Sometimes when I'm sitting on the couch… Well, you know what? It just comes when it comes. And typically the lyrics are a separate thing. I'll get inspiration — well, more often than not as I'm falling asleep, I'll start thinking of something, and I'll have to just get up and write it down. Then I have to somehow figure out how to make those words fit into the melodies that I'm hearing in my head. That's where it gets tricky. But there's really no set method. It just happens. I think it's kind of a little bit of a mental disorder or something. The brain is just always fidgety. I get so flooded with ideas, a lot of times I'll be, like, 'I can't even record this. I've been recording too many ideas.' If it's good, it'll keep coming back to me."

CRO-MAGS will release "The Age Of Quarrel: 40 Years Of Quarrel", a re-recording of their 1986 debut record, "The Age Of Quarrel", on November 13 via BLKIIBLK. Joining Flanagan are original "The Age Of Quarrel" guitarist Doug Holland and former CRO-MAGS/SUICIDAL TENDENCIES guitarist Rocky George, plus Meg Mills, Zach Blair and Arthur Rizk for fresh takes on classics including "Hard Times", "World Peace" and "Malfunction", along with the addition of the 1985 demo-era favorite "Everybody's Gonna Die". Flanagan is also joined by current band members Dominic Dibenedetto and Dave Sharpe. Drums on all tracks were handled by drum phenom Greyson Nekrutman (SEPULTURA). The effort was produced and mixed by Arthur Rizk, who has previously worked with KREATOR, POWER TRIP, BLOOD INCANTATION and SOULFLY, among others.

The decision to revisit "The Age Of Quarrel" began during the making of the "Wired For Chaos" documentary. Several songs had to be re-recorded for the film's soundtrack because the original recordings couldn't be licensed, inspiring Harley Flanagan to re-record the entire album. The project also provided an opportunity to address the complicated history surrounding the original record. None of the musicians who performed on "The Age Of Quarrel" were ever paid or received an accounting of the album's sales. For years, Flanagan tried to reunite the original lineup to re-record the album and reclaim the rights to "The Age Of Quarrel" and "Best Wishes" through the Copyright Reversion Act, but couldn't bring everyone together before that window closed.

The history of Harley Flanagan and his band CRO-MAGS is integral not just to the history of hardcore, but to modern metal, rock, and punk itself. With roots stretching from the shadow of Warhol and the Velvets to CBGB hardcore matinees and L'Amour Brooklyn thrash-a-thons, all the way through current generations of punk and extreme metal, CRO-MAGS are the connective tissue. Just ask the likes of Dave Grohl, GREEN DAY and TURNSTILE. CRO-MAGS stand side by side with BLACK SABBATH, MOTÖRHEAD and METALLICA as both an influence and a gamechanger.

The brainchild of a 14-year-old Harley Flanagan, CRO-MAGS began in 1981 while Flanagan was playing drums for THE STIMULATORS. By 1982/83, he had recorded the primal CRO-MAGS demos — four songs that would become the blueprint for the seminal 1986 release "The Age Of Quarrel". Initially a solo vision, Flanagan wrote and played all of the music himself. In 1985, alongside guitarist Parris Mayhew, vocalist John Joseph McGowan, and drummer Mackie Jayson, the genre-defining "The Age Of Quarrel" demo was recorded. The full-length album followed in 1986, with Doug Holland of KRAUT joining on second guitar.

Explosive both on and offstage, CRO-MAGS have had a tumultuous history, to put it mildly. Through multiple lineups, six studio albums beyond the original demos, and more than four decades of worldwide touring, CRO-MAGS remain one of the most iconic bands in American hardcore and metal. Today, the band is led by Flanagan on bass and vocals — a role he has held since "Best Wishes" (1989). He remains the only member to appear on every CRO-MAGS release since the band's founding.

Photo credit: Maurice Nunez