In the early and mid-'90s, Prong's unique blend of super-heavy industrial and thrash metal was ahead of its time and clearly influenced what was then the looming "nu metal" movement. At the time, I was a teenager who looked forward to every killer episode of MTV's Headbanger's Ball every Saturday night, which along with WAAF radio in my hometown of Boston is how I discovered Prong.
Its time in the spotlight of heavy metal was all to brief however, as albums after 1994's Cleansing never took off or delivered singles as strong and popular as "Beg to Differ" or "Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck," the latter of which is without a doubt Prong's most well-known song.
This is not to say that other albums like Rude Awakening or Prove You Wrong were duds; they just never made a splash beyond the underground metal community the way 1990's Beg To Differ and Cleansing did. And that's a shame because like Machine Head, Biohazard, Helmet and a few others, Prong added a new and exciting chapter to heavy metal that has gone largely unappreciated over time.
With the release of its newest album Power Of The Damager (13th Planet Records) last month however, this should change. It is clearly Prong's loudest, brutally heavy and consistent record since Cleansing; traces of earlier records like Beg To Differ are present as well.
The only significant difference between Cleansing and Power is the industrial noises are no longer a part of Prong's sound. This new record is all super heavy power, speed and thrash metal. And if you have none of these CDs in your metal collection, I suggest buying them all together. They're that good.
With drummer Aaron Rossi's aggressive - he frequently employs double kick drum pedals - and at times groovy rhythms setting the pace and band leader/guitarist Tommy Victor and bassist Monte Pittman's respective instruments tuned down to C and occasionally D, Power picks up where Cleansing left off. The staccato riffs, start-stop rhythms and Victor's snarl and growl are all still present, from album opener "Looking For Them" to "Worst of It" and on down the track list. "No Justice" is especially angry and reflects the times we live in; it also features machine-gun fast riffs and wild screams from Victor.
Article comments
1 - Brian aka Guppusmaximus
Nice Review...
"This highly respected pre-grunge-era group is back to show the kids how super heavy thrash metal is done."
This new Prong album is great, I just feel it came too late. Especially, with the rise of thrash(again) & the fact that their are some newer bands,imo,that do it better...Still, its an album worth picking up.
2 - charlie
Yeah, I see your point and I wish Prong didn't take this long to get their act together, but it's never too late to put out a great album, no matter the genre. I say POWER is Top 10 material, though if i ever do put a list out it will likely be in the latter half of my metal Top 10.
Yes, some newer bands give thrash a good name, but you got to wonder if their fans are fully aware of bands - besides Metallica and Slayer - who came before them (think Sacred Reich, Anthrax, Exodus, the original Sepultura band). Original thrash metal icons like Megadeth, for one is still out there kicking ass, but do they get the attention that other newer bands like say Shadows Fall gets? I doubt it.
I think what I was saying in my article is that Prong is a unique band that took thrash metal and turned it into what later became known as "nu metal." Other bands like Machine Head and Sepultura did that as well and it's a shame that bands like them have been forgotten or under appreciated over time - though Machine Head did get somewhat popular in the late 90s, by the turn of this century they weren't relevant (probably their own fault).
So while there are now many bands giving a heavier, detuned (guitar/bass) sound to thrash metal, it's always important to acknowledge who did it first.