Bang the Union – American Dream (Fastlane)
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Well, it’s better start off the year with a bang than with a whimper, right? Sure is, Jack. Bang the Union are an awkwardly-named-yet-fully-stoked Atlanta boogie metal band in the Budweiser-soaked vein of American Dog, the Four Horsemen, and (of course) Skynrd. S’funny, I just finished watchin’ Triumph live at the ’83 US fest on TV- not on purpose, but whatever- and here I am, tits-deep in a similar ‘white pants, honcho mustache, point at the crowd and wink’ kinda thunder. This is further proof of something, I just dunno what. At any rate, BTU rock plenty, man, with lotsa hard-working, hard-drinking, AC/DC’d blue-collar anthems like “Tongue Tied”, the blistering sawdust swagger rock of “American Dream”, and the corn-fed flash metal of “Useless”, complete with mullet-baiting lines like “I’m sick of your 9-5 bullshit/and I’m not takin’ no more/Say you want it, ya need it/ But I’m not your whore”. Ok, so “Why We Fight So Much” is an EXACT cop of The Four Horsemen’s “Nobody Said it was Easy”, but shit like that is welcome ‘round these parts, and best of all, you can search all day for a pussy ballad, and ya ain’t gonna find one here, man. I like these cats. I bet they can’t get through one night of drinkin’ tall boys down at the local dive without jumping on stage to bash out a few ragged Seger covers, making out with at least a couple of the waitresses, and breaking a pool cue over some fucker’s head. And if that ain’t the American Dream, I dunno what is.
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