Album Review: PRONG - Zero Days

01. However It May End

02. Zero Days

03. Off the Grid

04. Divide and Conquer

05. Forced Into Tolerance

06. Interbeing

07. Blood Out of Stone

08. Operation of the Moral Law

09. The Whispers

10. Self Righteous Indignation

11. Rulers of the Collective

12. Compulsive Future Projection

13. Wasting of the Dawn

Prong aren't only part of the soundtrack to my youth, they're the unsung heroes of the Alternative Metal Scene. They were hugely influential in the early nineties, but never received anything like the amount of press or airplay as some of their peers. I remember hearing the track Prove You Wrong and rushing into town the following day to buy the Whose Fist Is This Anyway EP on vinyl. I still have it to this day. Prong's career peaked when they released their classic album The Cleansing in 1994, which featured the hit Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck. Touring with Pantera in their heyday didn't hurt them either. Then they seemed to disappear into relative obscurity. It's sad that they were treated this way, as their music bridged the gap between Hardcore, Punk, Industrial, Grunge and Metal, and it was Prong, along with a few other bands including Pantera, Ministry, and Helmet who were the forerunners of what later developed the Nu-Metal scene.

So anyway, now I've had a good rant, and vented about how Prong deserve to be way bigger than they are, it's time to check out this new record Zero Days. I'm pleased to say that it's fucking ace. The production is excellent, and it sounds huge. Main man Tommy Victor is in fine voice, and sounds as pissed off as ever.

Zero days draws more from the Thrash and Hardcore side of Prong, and it's just what the doctor ordered. Opener However It May End is packed with energy and mosh-pit 'bounce factor'. There is also plenty of melody and numerous catchy choruses mixed with the precise Thrash attack throughout the album, most notably on the tracks Divide And Conquer and The Whispers. The whole album is as heavy as an armoured bison, and it doesn't let up at all. There are 'zero' weak moments here.

Prong may have taken a back seat due to Tommy Victor's day job as Danzig's guitarist, but Zero Days is a razor sharp reminder that Prong can still deliver the goods and are as relevant as ever. Zero Days is another fantastic album in their growing legacy, and definitely a record you shouldn't miss out on.