Artist: PRONG
Album: "CLEANSING RE-RELEASE (DIGI)"

Year: 1994/ 2008
Media type: CD

Few bands manage to straddle the divide between mainstream success and alternative appeal for too long before they either consign themselves to one or the other. Be it through massive commercial success, thus being decried by their original hardcore following as sell-outs, or to fail dismally or even simply turn their backs on any kind of mainstream appeal and return to the hallowed alternative ground to continue ploughing their own unique furrow.

One band, who have managed, over the course of a 22 year career, to plough their own unique alternative furrow, yet also flirt with the trappings of mainstream acceptability, and retain their credibility throughout, are Prong. A dark, morbid and often unsettling act who, over the years, have investigated the worlds of thrash metal, hardcore, industrial, experimental avant garde and even groove metal, delighting their fans and, for a short while at least, rousing the interest of the corporate machine and all that came with it. Of course, what is most amusing about this last aspect of Prong is that they always have been, without a doubt, the most corporate unfriendly of bands, even when MTV couldn’t seem to get enough of them in the ‘90s.

Prong was, and pretty much always has been, the brainchild of New Yorker Tommy Victor and their roots can be traced back to New York’s legendary (although now sadly defunct) CBGB’s club. Victor was the venue’s soundman in the early ‘80s when the idea of creating his own band formed in his mind. Enlisting the help of CBGB doorman Mike Kirkland on bass and ex-Swans drummer Ted Parsons, thus Prong was born.

Prong’s earliest releases, namely 1987’s ‘Primitive Origins’ and 1988’s ‘Force Fed’ were released independently on Spigot Records (and through Southern in the UK) and were short sharp lessons in hardcore brutality (indeed the eight track ‘Primitive Origins’ clocked in at under 17 minutes) and immediately found favour with punks, hardcore fans and metal fans now searching for more extreme sounds now that thrash metal had pretty much torn down the barriers that once restricted heavy metal. In the UK Prong were just as likely to be heard on John Peel’s legendary alternative radio show as they were to be featured in the pages of rock press.

With such barriers having been broken down, the late ‘80s was a fertile time for bands willing to experiment with all manner of extreme sounds, and the likes of Napalm Death, Sonic Violence, Carcass and Ministry all flourished. Naturally the major record labels, who had watched thrash metal emerge victorious earlier in the ‘80s, were all eager to stake their claim (remember this is all pre-grunge) and so Epic Records came sniffing around Prong.

Epic signed Prong in 1989 and the band released ‘Beg To Differ’ in 1990. Produced by Mark Dodson, whose CV included Suicidal Tendencies and Anthrax, the album saw a marked difference to the band that had recorded the first two Prong releases, even if the clientele were still the same. In place of the raw, sometimes brutish hardcore punk Prong had originally plied their trade in came a far more streamlined and cohesive thrash metal sound that seemed tailor made for the times, not that a band like Prong would have made such a deliberately cynical move with such intent. Whatever, ‘Beg To Differ’ certainly made Prong stand out.

At the time, and in a feeble marketing ploy in the UK, Epic tried to lump all their current rock acts into one advertising campaign in an effort to shift units (at the time all these releases were available on vinyl) – a move which was no doubt deemed a wizard idea in the Epic marketing department, but in reality, given the fractious and naturally suspicious nature of rock and metal fans, what good did it do any of the acts or indeed the label, to try and lump the AOR of Donnie Miller with the roots rock of Burning Tree and Nuclear Valdez with the power metal of Sanctuary and the grinding thrash of Prong? It might have saved the label a few pennies on advertising in the short run, but with the only constant amongst these bands being their record label, no good at all with magazines who’d be writing about them or the fans who’d smell a rat as soon as they saw the composite adverts.
Of all the bands Prong rose to the top, not only because in ‘Beg To Differ’ they had the strongest album but also one that was more in tune with what was truly happening street-level musically. And also because they also ventured over to the UK, where this writer caught them at London’s Marquee club on Charing Cross Road. Jaw-droppingly powerful, the full impact of the band was apparent in the live arena, a fine-tuned menacing metallic machine, Prong’s natural alternative bent gave them an intriguing edge over many more metallic based thrash acts. Although ‘Beg To Differ’ did not chart the title track was picked up by MTV, helping get the band across to a far wider audience and meaning they weren’t dropped like a stone by Epic.

Bassist Kirkland left following ‘Beg To Differ’, replaced by ex-Flotsam And Jetsam man Troy Gregory who appeared on 1991’s ‘Prove You Wrong’. And given a second bite at the cherry by Epic, Prong delivered once more. Only this time they’d diversified once again. The thrash metal base was still there, only this time Victor and his cohorts allowed a certain sense of melody to drift across their bleak soundscapes, most pertinent on the singles ‘Pointless’ and ‘Unconditional’. New boy Gregory lent his vocals to ‘Brainwave’ and a sprightly cover of The Stranglers’ ‘Get A Grip On Yourself’ helped reinforce Prong’s punkier credentials. The addition of electronic sequences and flashes of industrial tone helped darken Prong’s already moribund approach, adding to their alternative appeal.

By the time the band got around to releasing ‘Cleansing’ in 1994, Gregory had gone, and in had come ex-Killing Joke bassist, the late Paul Raven and keyboard player John Bechdel, both of whom had been working in the Ministry offshoot Murder Inc. (if you’ve never done so, seek out the band’s 1991 self titled album – you’ll be doing yourself a disservice if you do not). The bulking up on the personnel had a massively positive effect on the band. Not only did it bolster Prong’s sound to hitherto wretched heights (trust me, that’s a compliment) but with layers of more industrial angst on the music, it made ‘Cleansing’ the ultimate Prong album.

Of course almost everyone knows Prong for the song ‘Snap You Fingers, Snap Your Neck’, still a guaranteed dance floor filler in rock clubs to this day. And rightly too, the song, with its metallic crunch melded with industrial rage and yet a keen sense of melody is probably the closest thing Prong have ever had to a hit single and rates as one of the finest songs the band ever wrote. It is matched by ‘Broken Peace’, another song that, alongside ‘Snap Your Fingers…’ was leapt upon by MTV, further advancing the Prong case. ‘Cleansing’ reached 126 in the US charts and No. 71 here in the UK. A considerable achievement for such a hard hitting and alternative band as Prong.

1996’s ‘Rude Awakening’ fared even better, charting at No. 74 and shifting over 10,000 units in one week. Maybe not comparable with mainstream rock acts, but impressive work for a band like Prong. Alas it wasn’t enough for Epic Records, who dropped the band three weeks after the album’s release. Out on the road supporting goth metal act Type O Negative, Prong faltered and splintered mid tour. Raven returned to Killing Joke, Parsons joined Godflesh and Victor hooked up with Glen Danzig as a guitar player and with whom he would work on and off until 2005.

A new Prong line-up of Victor, Monte Pittman (guitar), Brian Perry (bass) and Dan Laudo (drums) headed out on the road in 2000, the ensuing tour resulting in the live album ‘100% Live’ which was released in 2002. The line-up also recorded a new studio album, ‘Scorpio Rising’ which was released in 2003. Another live album, ‘The Vault’ was released in 2005, the same year both Victor and Raven regrouped in Ministry to work on 2006’s ‘Rio Grande Blood’ album. Ironically the duo were nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Metal Performance category for the Ministry song ‘Senor Peligro’. The pair also appeared on Ministry’s 2007 album ‘The Last Sucker’.

Sadly Paul Raven passed away last year whilst recording with French alternative band Treponam Pal (ironically ex-Prong drummer Ted Parsons was also working with the band at the time). John Bechdel can be found in both the bands False Icons and Ascension Of The Watchers. Tommy Victor still heads a line-up of Prong, and the band released ‘Power Of The Damage’ last year. There was a touch of nostalgia in the air when Prong headlined at London’s Underworld venue towards the end of 2007. But when the grinding power of ‘Snap Your Finger’s Snap Your Neck’ flowed out through the excited audience, few could resist its call.

TRACKLIST:

01. Another Wordly Device
02. Whose Fist Is This Anyway
03. Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck
04. Cut-Rate
05. Broken Peace
06. One Outnumbered
07. Out Of This Misery
08. No Question
09. Not Of This Earth
10. Home Rule
11. Sublime
12. Test

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