Prong is one of these bands that has been an influence to every big name in the metal industry but never got really acclaimed for their hard work. Only a year and a half after the release of X- No Absolutes, Prong delivers a new one Zero Days. Really, I don’t know what Tommy Victor is feeding on these days but it is quite impressive that he delivers so many albums lately with such a high quality.
Zero Days focuses on bringing us crushing riffs and mind bowing grooves. Do not expect something mind-altering, which can not be expected either after all the excellent albums we already had, but for sure it’s Prong you hear. According to Tommy Victor there was a lot of effort put into this new Zero Days recording. Prong wanted this record to be modern as well as holding justice to all the previous releases. Again and maybe even more than normally he built up a lot to say and wanted to articulate them in the most intelligent way possible.
However It May End opens with a mind-crushing riff that goes on in a groovy thrashing song with a Victor who is screaming out all his aggression. Things That Came To Mind sounds like a Machine Head back in the days but with a typical Prong twist. Zero Days, the title track, opens with a crazy riff that definitely shows what Prong is made of. With Off The Grid Prong touches the punky side of them with a melodic chorus. Divide And Conquer is a more “danceable” and melodic song. Forced Into Tolerance is again putting the throttle to full modus with in the middle a headbanging groove that will nobody will keep untouched. Interbeing and Blood Out Of Stone is the more groovier melodic version of Prong. While this first part focuses more on the more aggressive and thrashy side of Prong, the second half shows the more melodic side of Prong as you can hear in The Whispers, Rules Of The Collective and Compulsive Future Injection. Self Righteous Indignation has a very addicting groove and melody while tuned very low. Wasting Of The Dawn throws us back at the Cleansing era with nice industrial and groovy influence.
This 12th album in 31 years, what a career in fact, is again a bull’s eye. While some will say that it’s a bit of the same as their previous releases, we can still hear the originality of the Prong songs. The production is flawless, it sounds heavy aggressive and was again in the hands of Tommy Victor himself together with Chris Collier. The songs are crushing and there is something for each in it. If you buy the digipack there is also a extra track on it and it comes also a double LP.
Release Date : 28th July 2017
Label : SPV/Steamhammer
Tracklist :
1. However It May End
2. Zero Days
3. Off the Grid
4. Divide and Conquer
5. Forced Into Tolerance
6. Interbeing
7. Blood Out of Stone
8. Operation of the Moral Law
9. The Whispers
10. Self Righteous Indignation
11. Rules of the Collective
12. Compulsion Future Projection
13. Wasting of the Dawn
