In 1988, nothing mattered to me - except for my skateboard, my cassette collection, my woman, my weed, & my next issue of Thrasher Magazine.
Each month, I used to read & re-read each issue of that legendary skateboard magazine - (who didn't?). In those days, Pushead did the music writing for them - and like many of you who are of my generation - I found myself delving deeper & deeper into the underground hardcore / metal scenes around the world via the "Puszone" column each month.
Thusly, that is where I first discovered Prong.
The guitar riffs on this thing are all so fucking strong; compelling you to bang your head one minute, & then circle-pit your ass off the next. The bass is bottom heavy w/ a resounding thud, and the drumming is fucking epic - heavy & on-point - yet full of subtle nuances that transcend much of what the crossover scene was doing back then.
The cover art upon first sight was so stark and burly to me - I was heavily into Cro-Mags & Agnostic Front & C.o.C. at this time, so this was a logical next-step (musically) for me. It sounded like nothing else I'd heard before.
Prong did one more record after this that I (sorta) liked, 1990's "Beg to Differ", which contained a cool Pushead cover, a few rippers & a bunch of polished, homogenized tunes that didn't hold that same raw & unbridled power - it was a sign of what was to come for the band - and I didn't bother to follow them any more after that.
This record still holds its own as a unique-sounding NY crossover gem that gets overlooked at times. For a little indie-released record that didn't have much (if any) budget behind it, the mix is very strong, everything is loud in the mix, yet balanced nicely. Certainly grab this if you don't have it already.
http://lix.in/-a523ee
ReplyDeleteYou just described my youth. Great posting as usual.
ReplyDeleteI'll never forget the first Prong song I ever heard. It was drainpipe and I heard it on the a metal and hardcore show called Whiplash that was on the local College radio station.
ReplyDeleteI def think that force fed is their greatest record. I didn't much like "beg to differ" when it dropped. I like it a little more as a 35 year old dude. Maybe I am the only one that feels this way, but I kinda think that record was doing Helmet either before Helmet did Helmet or before Helmet became widely known (I recall Strap it On being all the rage around '91).
"Primitive Origins" is pretty swell too, but just a taste of what was to come on "Force Fed".
ReplyDeleteIt is kind of weird how they mellowed on "Beg to Differ", and then Helmet came around like you said, yet those guys had more of a "mechanical" thing going on to me. Helmet riffs are alot less organic in nature to me - not as heavy, in a way - and had more to do w/ math-rock than it did w/ metal. Still, I was a big fan all of that shit back in the day.
Nowadays, the thought of listening to ANY Helmet record makes my stomach twitch; certainly hasn't aged well, but I can say Prong had a two-record moment that is worth having (P.O. & F.F.). Sadly, this band became a horrible wrestling-intro-music groovy band or something like that - Tommy Victor plays w/ Danzig, etc. LAME.
I had forgotten all about these guys actually. great post. I used to have some of their stuff on a tape my friend made me and I loved it.
ReplyDeleteIn your intro I've had a deja-vu moment of myself in that period, except for the "psycho tropic substance", here (Portugal) nearer Morocco we had/have hashish.
ReplyDeleteIn the Prong phase I've even auto-tattooed a Prong on my knee out of boredom after two days in bed with the flu.
I remember being in a club with Prongs "just the same" blasting when "your" first Scuds hit Iraq in GWB I Gulf war.
I was going to remind you of Primitive..., but you out paced me.
Beg to differ on the other hand was a bit a stretch too far, or at least it was not what I was interested at the moment.
I've found the more Industrial "Cleansing" and "Rude Awakening" also very interesting I believe that it was final stage of evolution initiated with "Force Fed".
I also really like the Power of the damager after the previous too clinic sounding and relatively bland SR.
(Helmet=Meantime it's one of those albums where volume is never enough...)
If you can believe it, I was actually part of the Prong Fan Club, goading us suckers into $10 membership a year with the idea that Tommy, Victor or Mike may actually give us a call at some point! Ahhh, the 80's. Actually, the great thing about this album is that Mike Kirkland was cutting tracks with G.G. Allin for his amazing "You Give Love A Bad Name" LP while this was being recorded. I guess ya gotta get your coke somewhere! Great post, thanks!
ReplyDeleteI got Ted Parsons on my Facebook friends list. He's sound as fuck.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like "man crush"...
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