If I had to rank the bands that were most influential to me,
the groove/thrash/post-hardcore pioneers Prong would definitely be within the
top 15. Maybe the top 10. Hell, perhaps even the top 5.
Prong has constantly been a changing force in metal music,
basically help create the groove metal and industrial metal subgenres; all the
while strengthening their claim has a legendary thrash band. Band
leader/vocalist/guitarist Tommy Victor has been the only mainstay throughout
the bands 20+ year history, while also acting as recording and touring
guitarist for several other bands, including Danzig
and Ministry.
Prong disappeared for a few years in the late nineties, but
ever since 2003’s “Scorpio Rising,” have been churning out albums every few
years, continuing with 2007’s amazing-yet-tragically-under-produced “Power Of
The Damager” and then 2012’s “Carved Into Stone.” This go around, Victor is
joined by a duo of talented musicians, Tony Campos (Static-X, Soulfly, etc.) on
bass and Alexei Rodriguez (3 Inches Of Blood, etc.) on drums.
So you’re probably wondering, after all this jabber, how the
album actually is. Well, here goes…
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1.) “Eternal Heat”
The album jumps straight into a thrashy intro, and it’s
clear from the get-go that the band didn’t mess around with the production. The
last album, “Power Of The Damager” was good but featured very muddy production…
not this time. The guitar is down-tuned and clear, while the bass is audible
and the drums are sounding perfect. This track almost sounds like a song taken
from the songwriting process of their thrash classic “Beg To Differ,” and
features a very vintage-thrash song structure. I also loved hearing Victor
release his inner-Zakk Wylde and show off his Danzig
side, squealing numerous times throughout the song. A great thrash track, and a
good way to get the album moving.
2.) “Keep On Living In Pain”
This song gets off to a much chuggier, groove-oriented start
than its predecessor. It’s very thrash-like, but features more of the
“Cleansing”-era stomp that recent Prong albums have been lacking. The chorus,
while very simple (musically and lyrically), is an instant classic, and will
get stuck in your head for days if you’re not careful. Tony Campos gets his
chance to shine on bass on this song, while Alexei Rodriguez carries a nice
beat throughout.
3.) “Ammunition”
By this point in the album, Prong are in full-on ass-kicking
mode. This song is essentially a great fight song, and Victor makes that very
clear through the lyrics (I won’t spoil the nice surprise in them for you). In
writing this song, you can tell that they wanted to make a song that was the
perfect mix between their “Cleansing”-era groove and their “Power Of The
Damager”-era thrash. They manage to pull that off in spades, and this song is
another great song in an album that is chock-full of them.
4.) “Revenge… Best Served Cold”
What Prong (and music in general) has been lacking for the
longest time is the instantly-classic song… a song like “Snap Your Fingers,
Snap Your Neck” was almost twenty years ago. I can proudly say that “Revenge…
Served Cold” is the closest thing to a classic song that I’ve heard in years.
The main riff is one nasty son of a bitch, and is so simple yet one of the
greatest things you’ll hear in a while. The chorus, likewise, is simple but
infectious. Victor gets a chance to solo throughout large parts of the song,
and it only adds to the classic sound this song has. Drummer Alexei Rodriguez
manages to breathe new blood into the band with his double bass fills, but his
shining moments in this song comes from the very vintage-Prong-styled drumming
he brings to the majority of it. If you’re an iTunes person, and buy only a few
songs per album… buy this one. You will not regret it.
5.) “State Of Rebellion ”
Following the last track is a tall order, but “State Of Rebellion ” manages to
pull it off. Prong does this best by upping the heavy factor to 11, and letting
bassist Tony Campos groove like a madman. The verse features a very “Rude
Awakening”-styled bass section, but replaces the industrial elements from that
album with thrash mayhem. Another great song.
6.) “Put Myself To Sleep”
This is one of the calmer moments on the album, but do not
worry: Prong has not gone acoustic. This song is still thrashy, yet in a
melodic sense. The lyrics seem to come from a dark place within Victor, and it
shows throughout the song. Victor’s voice is young and fresh throughout the
song, and he is the driving force on this track. This features yet another
incredibly catchy chorus, which manages to accomplish that feat with minimal
lyrical work, which is a very impressive feat.
7.) “List Of Grievances”
Prong get full-on thrash with this song, ditching all groove
and other elements to make a song that could have been pulled from their early
days. The band manages to accomplish a Machine Head “Burn My Eyes”-type of
sound on this track, including Victor, who reaches down into his lower register
for the more aggressive vocal parts of the song, sounding very similar to MH’s
Robb Flynn. The gang vocals near the middle of this short track escalate this
into a great thrash song, and Victor’s solo certainly doesn’t hurt.
8.) “Carved Into Stone”
Tommy Victor certainly reaches into his Danzig
bag of doomy riffs for the title track, and the rest of the band complies by
turning this into an epic Black Sabbath-type song. Like I said, it features
very doomy riffs, and largely sounds like a Danzig
track with Victor singing vocals: that doesn’t make it a bad Prong song,
though. It’s the longest song on the album, over 5 minutes in length, and
builds up throughout its duration.
9.) “Subtract”
This song is the biggest Frankenstein that Prong created for
this album. So many elements remind me of all eras of Prong, including their
thrashy beginnings, their groove-oriented midlife, and some parts even remind
me of “Scorpio Rising” and “Power For The Damager.” If anything, I’d say that
this is a very modern-sounding song, perhaps the most so on the album. This is
very reminiscent near the end, with the almost Sevendust-sounding guitar solo.
It’s another great song, and if you’re an iTunes person, I’d recommend this
track, as well.
10.) “Path Of Least Resistance”
I’d say that this song is definitely the most melodic of the
album, but again: not a bad thing. When Prong go melodic, they do so with
style. This track is mostly led by a strong rhythm section, and both Tony
Campos and Alexei Rodriguez manage to make the most out of their instruments,
building the song up towards the end, where it finally begins to evolve.
Victor’s voice sounds extremely youthful and fresh on this track, and his
guitar solo near the end is perhaps the most epic, soul-searching one he’s ever
recorded.
11.) “Reinvestigate”
How else would Prong end an album than by thrashing the hell
out for three minutes? Alexei Rodriguez double bass drives the song, yet does
so methodically. This song is a great way to end the album, as it continues on
the resurgent-thrash vibe they’ve resurrected, yet leaves you wanting more.
This is a great song, but seems much too short for me to fully appreciate it.
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All-in-all, this is the best album Prong has released in
years. I would definitely put it in the same category as their breakthrough
album, “Cleansing,” which is held in the pantheons of legendary metal albums.
In time, I think many will see this as Prong’s true return to form, the one
we’ve all been waiting for since Tommy Victor got the band back together in the
early 2000s: this is their equivalent to Machine Head’s “The Blackening.”
The vocals on this album are vintage-Prong. Tommy Victor has
a very unique and identifiable voice, which makes him a stickler to many. He is
honestly a vocalist that you either love or hate. I think most people would
consider this album to be in their “love” category after listening to it.
Victor hasn’t sounded this energetic in years, and it shows throughout the
entire album; the heaviest vocal parts are the heaviest he’s ever done, and the
lighter, more melodic vocals parts are cleaner than he’s ever done.
Of course, on guitar, Tommy Victor is a legend. And this
album is no exception to that. The man seems to never run out of riff ideas, no
matter how many albums he plays guitar on. These songs feature the strongest
riffs he’s written in years, and even his solos sound great. Victor’s
style-of-play isn’t overly technical, but he definitely makes up for that in
groove and HAVE I TALKED ABOUT HIS RIFFS YET?!?!
The rhythm section on this album is sound. New band-members
Tony Campos and Alexei Rodriguez not only carry their own, but contribute to
Prong’s overall sound in spades. As a trio, they manage to carry a beat better,
I’d say, that the four-piece did on Prong’s classic “Cleansing” album;
musically, they are that good. Campos
is great at “slappin’ da’ bass” on this album, and it’s very audible
throughout, which is something that hasn’t been featured on a Prong album since
“Rude Awakening.” Alexei Rodriguez brings his youthful style of drumming to the
band, and this is very evident with the abundance of double bass, which only
adds to Prong’s sound for this album.
If you’ve ever been a fan of Prong, groove metal, thrash
metal, or anything close to those, I’d highly recommend this album. I’d go as
to say that this can eventually challenge “Cleansing” as tops in Prong’s
repertoire, and is cemented as a finalist in my album of the year category.
Although this album just came out, and I’ve listened to it countless times
within the few days since, I’d be very surprised if this wasn’t one of the
finest metal albums released this year.
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