New York's classic heavy metal trio THE RODS will headline the Binghamton Area Metalfest (BAM) 2009, set to take place September 12th at The Country Pines in Endicott, New York. The band will play the Summer Stage.

Confirmed band include:

THE RODS (headliner)

CAGE (co-headliner)

ELEVATOR DEATH SQUAD

SINNER (Judas Priest tribute band)

TITANIUM BLACK

RAVAGE

BEYOND FALLEN

JANE EVIL

CURSED FROM BIRTH

THIS CITY NEEDS A HERO

The Rods' bio is available below:

"Forged from the ashes of boogie bar band ELF (featuring Ronnie James Dio), guitarist David Feinstein joined bassist Stephen Starmer and drummer Carl Canedy to combine influences that included BLUE CHEER, THE GODZ and Ted Nugent to form The Rods.

Their grassroots following produced the independent Rock Hard LP (1980) released on the band's homespun label Primal Records and gained them the support slot for a one-off Judas Priest show in Albany, NY.

The raw mixture of power chords and amped-up pub rock engineered by Armand John Petri and Chris Bubacz (Metallica) was enough to catch the attention of Clive Davis and Arista Records.

The high-profile New York label signed the band for a two record deal, and after Starmer was replaced by bassist Gary Bordonaro, repackaging Rock Hard with a stronger running order and the addition of two cover songs, Robert Fleischman's 'Ace In The Whole' and White Honey's 'Nothing Going On In The City'.

The Rods' self-titled, major label debut came as the rise of the New Wave of British Metal hit American shores in 1981. Referring to the Rods as the American Motörhead, UK paper Sounds and their Heavy Metal offshoot Kerrang! ran sensationalized stories of the three-piece guaranteed to sell both the band and the magazine.

A European tour as direct support for IRON MAIDEN on their legendary Number Of The Beast UK tour ensued during the spring of 1982 putting The Rods in the British metal charts.

Riding the wave, the band remained in Britain and went to work on Wild Dogs, their first proper release for Arista under the watchful eyes of producer Martin Pearson (KROKUS). The record continued the band's love affair with heart-pound muscle rock but with Air Supply and Whitney Houston selling millions of records, the label chose not to renew their association even when AC/DC invited them out as support during their For Those About To Rock 1983 tour.

Quickly snatched up by the more fitting Shrapnel Records, The Rods assembled a strong set of demos titled In The Raw (1983). Boasting some of their strongest song ideas including the anthem 'Hurricane', the disc captured the band at their unruly heaviest. There were other records like the official Live (1984) and Let Them Eat Metal (1984) with it's controversial yet classic album art. However, all three members were being pulled in different directions and eventually retreated to their own pursuits. Two other projects would eventually fall under The Rods' name, Hollywood (1986) featuring Canedy, Feinstein, Bordonaro and Rick Caudle as well as Heavier Than Thou (1986) spotlighting Dutch singer Shmoulik Avigal (Horizon, Picture). But then all fell silent for nearly twenty years.

For the latest information on The Rods, visit their official My Space website at this location. For the latest information on the 2009 Binghamton Area Metalfest (BAM), visit the official website."