Boston's Bang Camaro aren't breaking any molds. They play basic hair metal in much the same way their predecessors in the '70s and '80s did. Co-founders and lead guitarists Alex Necochea and Bryn Bennett have clearly copped pretty much everything they know from a careful study of old Kiss and Skid Row records. And the verses of heavy-rockin' tracks like "Push Push Lady Lightning" - which has found a home on the playlists of both Guitar Hero II and Rock Band - course with a river of testosterone.
But Bang Camaro do add one new wrinkle to the metal formula. Instead of using just one adenoidal howler to state their case, an army of a dozen or so front men emphasize each lyric with stentorian declamations that would surely make Gene Simmons smile. The result is a hyper-masculine hybrid of "Strutter" and one of those creepily fascistic English football cheers.
If it all sounds kind of sub-Spinal Tap, well, it is. But one should never underestimate the trend-making power of lug-headed hard-rock parody. Bang Camaro have only been around since 2005, and MTV, Billboard, Rolling Stone and a brace of other wide-coverage media outlets have all sung their praises. As the rock 'n' roll novelty act of the moment, they're pretty much guaranteed appearances on all the late-night talk shows and a cameo in a teen film about beer-swilling doofuses who are still weighing the relative merits of a steady girlfriend and killing a case of cold ones with their boys.
Will the Bostonians last long enough to etch their name forever in the hard-rock pantheon? Probably not. But they'll provoke plenty of delirious head-banging as long as they're around. And, in the end, isn't that what runnin' with the devil is all about?
