Ask Cro-Mags vocalist, bassist, and founder Harley Flanagan how he picked the title for the band’s first album in 20 years, and he’ll give it to you straight: “In many ways, it’s a new beginning and also a tribute to where it all began.” After decades of feuding with former members—a situation that resulted in two separate bands claiming the Cro-Mags name and culminated with a fight in 2012 at New York’s Webster Hall that ended in the stabbing of multiple former and current members (including Flanagan himself)—Flanagan has secured full ownership of the legendary hardcore band’s name. With a lineup featuring longtime members Rocky George (guitar), Garry “G-Man” Sullivan (drums), and Gabby Abularach (guitar)—not to mention a guest shot from Motörhead’s Phil Campbell on “From the Grave”—Flanagan explores themes of struggle, loss, and perseverance on In the Beginning. “This is a culmination of everything I am as a person,” he tells Apple Music. “It’s my personal evolution, my musical evolution, and all the things that have influenced me thus far. It’s 100 percent Cro-Mags.” Below, Flanagan takes us through the tracks. Don't Give In “The intro to this song is a nod to the first song on the first Cro-Mags album, ‘We Gotta Know’—a big intro that then busts into a fast song that has more of a resemblance to something off of [Cro-Mags’ 2000 album] Revenge. Lyrically, it digs in deep. I lost a friend, close mentor, and inspiration, Anthony Bourdain, to suicide after having lost my mother and then, during the recording process, my brother-in-law Christopher Mendelson and my guitarist’s girlfriend Karen—all within a relatively short period of time. It affected the lyrics a lot. On one hand, someone that I loved, respected, and looked up to gave up his life—essentially threw it away—and then I had others I loved and respected fighting so hard for theirs. It really put a lot of things in perspective, and at the end of it, all I kept coming up with was ‘don't give in.’” Drag You Under “No matter how hard things get, you have to fight on—this is the recurring message throughout this album. ‘Sometimes life is a real motherfucker, sometimes it feels like life is trying to drag you under, but you just can't quit’—it’s a pretty simple line, but it’s to the point.” No One's Victim “This is about not allowing yourself to become the victim—not to your situation, to life, or to yourself. You can't let your circumstances define who you are, ’cause only death is certain, everything else is optional, your happiness depends on no one else but you, no one else can live your life or fill your grave for you.” From the Grave “On this track I had the honor of Phil Campbell, legendary guitarist for Motörhead, playing slide and lead guitar. I met him in the ’80s when Cro-Mags were on tour with Motörhead, and since they’ve been an inspiration in so many ways, it made perfect sense to ask Phil if he would play on this. I was so proud that he said yes. The song itself is about not being beaten despite the beating. It's about coming back. It's about revenge. ‘Defeat's not always final, nor is victory permanent’ is a reminder.” No One's Coming “I heard a veteran talking about a combat situation—they were pinned down under enemy fire and heavily outnumbered. He knew they were not getting backup or support—they were on their own. He looked to his friend and said, ‘No one's coming.’ Such powerful words and such a heavy realization, and it reminded me of so many situations when you have to face life and death on your own. That's why I wrote the lines ‘When you're in that dark place and there is no light/You gotta dig deep, stand strong and fight/No one's coming, you are on your own/No one's coming, dig deep and fight on.’ It’s about fighting on through adversity, suffering, loss, humiliation—it’s about not giving up even when the odds are against you.” PTSD “This has a big intro—big chords with Rocky playing leads and making noises while G-Man does all kinds of crazy jazz-rock-type shit on drums. We left the intro off the single ’cause we wanted it to be a different, more explosive version on the LP. The song is about post-traumatic stress disorder, something I didn't even realize I had until my friend and Navy Seal Jocko Willink told me that without a doubt I did. Since then, I have been to counseling and I have other friends I get together with when times get rough—friends who have dealt with PTSD. Writing this album and coming to terms with some of these things has helped me realize that I'm not crazy; I'm not just an angry person. I have had a lot of bad shit happen to me, and you can't expect it to not affect someone. It took combat veterans and ex-cons and gang members talking to me for me to realize this, and I thank them every day for being there for me when I need them.” The Final Test “This song also has a big intro—I’m a big fan of the big intro. It opens up leads over big chords, jazzy drum fills, plus sirens and street sounds recorded down the block from my house. The song is about finding peace in life and being at peace when you die, because I think that’s the final test. I tried to sing a little more on this one, but I didn't want to overdo it. I kept it pretty simple, but I doubled the vocals. I don't know why; I just felt it—I thought it would sound good. Then, while watching a Marvin Gaye documentary, I realized how much he did that on What's Going On and I thought maybe that's why I'm hearing it in my head. I like it, and our producer Arthur Rizk agreed.” One Bad Decision “There is a lot of truth in this song. ‘One wrong decision could end your life/One wrong decision could undo your life/One bad decision could destroy your life/One bad decision could take others’ lives/Think about what you say, think about what you do/Everyone makes mistakes; sometimes some won’t go away/Emotional decisions ruin lives every day.’ At the end, you hear a sample I recorded outside my window on a religious holiday. There was a parade walking by my building, and it sounded very Godfather-ish. I just thought it added vibe.” Two Hours “I made up the lyrics on the spot in the studio, all based on a real situation after almost getting in an altercation on the subway and opting to not throw one guy in front of the train and punch his friend in the throat. I was with my kids and they looked a little freaked out. I asked them, ‘Where do we want to be tonight? At home eating dinner and chilling out? Or do I want to have to explain to a cop why this all happened and get arrested? And for what? Some meaningless situation?’ It actually became a lesson for them, and one I shared with others. While we were mixing the song, my boy Peter Storm called me from Rikers Island. Ironically, he got arrested for a fight that I'm sure he wishes he would have walked away from. We recorded the call and added it to the song. He knew the name of the song we were working on was called ‘Two Hours,’ which is why when I asked him, ‘When you lookin’ at getting out?’ he laughed and said, ‘Not in two hours.’” Don't Talk About It “This is about some shit that went down in 2012. It’s in my book, Hard-Core: Life of My Own. I got set up by ex-friends and jumped; I put three of them in the hospital. It's about that situation and all the people who have talked shit and taken sides ever since. On this one, I used more subway samples at the end for vibe. I just like to pull people into the sounds of New York so they can feel and hear my city where I grew up.” Between Wars “This song was a lot of fun to work on because it was for a movie soundtrack [Between Wars], so it gave me a chance to do something completely different. I recorded the song, just bass and drums, and then added all the arpeggiated guitar parts, and eventually I added the cellos and did the throat singing. I was inspired to add the cellos when I first heard Carlos ‘Lamont’ Cooper playing in the subway where he plays to make a living. Turns out he's an ex-gangbanger, a Piru Blood. He's done years in prison and been shot multiple times. He's had a hard life, and although we’ve had very different experiences, we have a lot of things in common—PTSD will do that. We talk to each other a lot, and it helps. He’s called me a mentor and we’ve become friends and plan to work on more music together.” No Turning Back “I tried singing a little on this one, but I didn't push out of my boundaries. I just relaxed and did it. This song is kind of about meditating—about pulling in good energy and expelling bad energy. I had all my young jiu-jitsu students from Renzo Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy singing backup—all kids between 6 and 11, mostly girls. I recorded them at the Renzo Gracie Academy.” There Was a Time “This one is about losing everything you believe in and somehow finding the ability to keep going. With this song musically, I tried to bring it right back to the Cro-Mags formula to remind people how it started. So the album starts with the old vibe, then takes a trip and returns to the roots.”