On Friday, Mike and Molly’s will become part local venue and part Revolutionary War re-enactment when local metal outfit Bang 76 strikes a chord heard halfway around downtown. The four-piece band rocks out in garb worn by the American Revolutionary Army, complete with powdered whigs and white face paint that gives them statuesque presence. Musically the pallid-faced quartet seems to channel distorted guitar-laden and angst-soaked grunge and metal of the early 90s.
Frontman “Gen. G.W.” belts out crooning and guttural melodies over the drone of palm-muted guitar interspersed with Sabbath-inspired riffs. Although they may not rock as heavily as a band like Slayer, the fact that they play while wearing serveral layers of hefty jackets and ruffled shirts in the central Illinois humidity makes them no less brutal. After the show, find a British person and give them the finger.