Bang

I think they were really pioneers. They were the first band that I know of to blatantly combine a Sabbath influence with hard rock. They were condemned as rip-offs and over-rated at the time, but their music holds up very well IMO, and the fact that the style is still thriving almost 40 years later speaks for itself. I don't think they get their props.

Where were they from? I need to investigate this group....

They were form Texas I'm pretty sure. Their best is the s/t, followed by Mother/Bow To The King.
They are like early Bloodrock meets Witchfinder General. Bang is one of the few bands that never gets old for me. They are often lumped with Dust and Sir Lord Baltimore as "forgotten classic", but Bang is way better IMO. I like them as much as Budgie, although they don't have the catalouge.

Okay, time to go scavenging, that sounds killer....

Man I dig Bang! I gotta have you pass me their stuff SAHB, surprised you haven't yet, hehe.

I think we need a separate forum for all these "forgotten bands".

But what the hell to call it?

Proto-Metal Paradise? Depressed Hippies R US? Lude Rock?

I'll add some stuff that not Proto Metal but I agree with your idea for a separate thread. Call it what you want, go smoke a bowl and see where the trip takes you and then decide what to call it, hehe.

Forgotten bands ..... not forgotten by the Tokester.....though I've forgotten just about everything else. I've got a couple of their albums, that I could pass ya AD .... Mother/bow to the king and their reunion album 'the Maze' (from 2004). I would love to have the first Bang album (I used to have it on 8-track) it kicks butt!

Hellyeah! I didn't even know you had any Bang! I'll pass you a flash drive manana.