Henry Rollins, former singer for the legendary punk rock band Black Flag, made a guest appearance on the The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to promote his movie He Never Died. While there, Colbert coerces the rock star into singing a Christmas carol with him and together they punk out "Carol of the Bells."
Leading up to Colbert's invitation to sing with him, he asks Rollins if he celebrates Christmas. In response Rollins' explains, "I'm not at war with Christmas. I am a microwave solo act in my utilitarian man-box in Los Angeles, for Christmas. Food from the store goes into the microwave, I eat it, I listen to records and curse the darkness." Colbert feels this is a "biblical" way to spend the holidays.
Of course, Rollins agrees to sing with Colbert and when The Late Show returns from a brief commercial break, Colbert is waiting stoically in the spotlight. He is wearing a Christmas sweater with the letter 'C' outlined in working Christmas lights. The audience seemed a bit unsure as to whether they should laugh or applaud, as is often the case with Colbert. When the camera eventually pans over to Rollins, we find the rock star wearing a matching sweater, his with an 'R'.
The song starts off with Colbert lilting his way through the first verse of "Carol of the Bells" and is followed with a very intense chorus from Rollins as he punks out the classic Christmas song. There is nothing quite like seeing Colbert head banging to the Blackflag-esque notes.
Even at age 54, Rollins can still shred his vocal cords like a beast and get your heart pounding with adrenaline. This just proves once again that Rollins still has what it takes to rule the punk rock world.
In He Never Died Rollins plays an immortal man who is angry at the world. When is daughter is kidnapped by mobsters, he will do whatever it takes to get her back safely... Even if that means literally eating his enemies. We can expect to see a miniseries continuation of the film soon.
