Often referred to as America's answer to Black Sabbath, BANG is one of the most unsung bands in the history of US hard rock. Toting the heaviness of Birmingham’s finest, Led Zeppelin and the dirty groove of Grand Funk Railroad, BANG released three critically acclaimed albums on Capitol Records in the early 70s, inadvertently going on to establish the heavy genre that is now universally known as proto-metal.

Busting out of the turmoil of the post-psychedelic '60s, BANG's 1971 self-titled debut is considered an important forerunner of the early Doom Metal genre with Decibel Magazine once hailing it as a, "landmark album in the badass pantheon of metal," and inducting it the Decibel Metal Hall of Fame. Yet as richly deserved as that honour is, BANG were no one-trick pony. Undoubtedly one of America's heaviest proto-metal bands they also had a strong sense of melodic power, versatility and their song writing skills were second to none.

In the summer of 1971, Frank Ferrara, Tony Diorio and Frankie Gilcken hit the road, driving from their native Philadelphia area to Florida to try their luck. While buying rolling papers in a record store, they learned of a Small Faces and Deep Purple concert nearby in Orlando. Brazenly, they showed up at the venue and declared they were ready to go on stage. The concert organizer asked them to set up and play for him and after a handful of songs, the band found themselves opening for Rod Stewart and Small Faces. Before they knew it, BANG was playing with Bachman Turner Overdrive, Deep Purple, Three Dog Night, Fleetwood Mac, Ike and Tina Turner, The Doobie Brothers, and even Black Sabbath. Capitol Records signed them, and three LPs were subsequently released.

On January 6, 2014 BANG announced their reunion. Original drummer and lyricist Tony Diorio continues to contribute lyrics, while Matt Calvarese performed drums live.
On August 15, 2017, BANG released their autobiography entitled "The BANG Story: From the Basement to the Bright Lights", written with Lawrence Knorr.