Prong
100% Live
Locomotive
Strange to think that Prong were once hailed by many as the saviors of thrash metal, their albums looked upon as redefining what hard rock could do. That was a decade ago, and much has happened since. Ministry did what Prong only hinted at, and the face of metal, not to mention its audience, has changed wildly since then. Prong themselves dissolved a couple of years ago, but that didn’t last for long, and here they are again, back with a surprisingly effective live album.
With tracks culled from their several uneven albums, this is sure to be a sprawling affair. But songs like the industrially rocking “Controller” and the turbo-charged “Disbelief” (the latter one taken from their very first album, when they were still a struggling hardcore act) are as fine today as ever before. And even where the songwriting is not up to snuff, they get by on sheer dynamics and tense, charged outpourings.
However, apart from a few rounds of applause, 100% Live doesn’t add much to these songs. If you’re a hardcore Prong fan, you’ll want this regardless of what I or anyone else has to say about it. Other listeners might want to check out their studio releases first, perhaps beginning with Cleansing.
Locomotive Records: http://www.locomotivemusic.com/
