Fang

Fang is a punk group from Berkeley, United States, active from 1981 to the present. The band is associated with the early Bay Area punk scene and is known for a raw, hard-edged style that sits within punk and hardcore punk.

Early releases and Bay Area punk

The band emerges around 1980 with the experimental two-song EP Yukon Fang, which is led by guitarist Tom Flynn. After that release, vocalist Sammy, also known as Slammie or Sammytown, joins from the punk band Shut Up. With this line-up, Fang records Fun With Acid, which appears on the 1982 Alternative Tentacles and Maximum Rocknroll compilation double LP Not So Quiet On The Western Front.

Later in 1982, Fang releases the eight-song 12-inch EP Landshark. That record includes tracks such as “Law & Order,” “Destroy The Handicapped,” and “Skinheads Smoke Dope,” and it becomes one of the band’s best-known releases. Fang also contributes “They Sent Me To Hell C.O.D.” to the CD Presents compilation LP in 1984.

Boner Records period

Fang then works with Boner Records, contributing “Johnny Puke” and “Better Off Dead” to the compilation Them Boners Be A-Poppin', alongside bands including Tales Of Terror, Bl'ast!, Special Forces, Verbal Abuse and the Boneless Ones. The group follows that with the Boner EP Where The Wild Things Are, whose title and cover art reference Maurice Sendak’s children’s book.

After touring Europe and changing line-up, Fang records the 1986 LP Spun Helga and the 1987 full-length A Mi Ga Sfafas/Get Nothing & Like It, both for Boner. Another LP, Pissed-Off Buddha, is also recorded but remains unreleased.

Break, reformation and later work

After legal problems and a break, Fang reforms in the late 1990s and returns with the LP American Nightmare. That record includes “Eat A Vegan” and features Jim Martin of Faith No More on guitar. The band remains active and continues to perform live at times.

Influence and covers

Fang’s songs are covered by a range of later bands, including Mudhoney, the Butthole Surfers, Nirvana, Green Day and Metallica, in both live and studio versions. The band is widely associated with the West Coast punk underground and with a nihilistic, drunken style that becomes influential on later punk rock.