Prong - Carved In Stone - Review

 Prong - Carved In Stone - 2012

Carved In Stone Prong's 8th offering, comes five years after Power Of The Damager(2007) was released. Front man, and sole original member Tommy Victor sounds clear, meaner, crunchy, and as always unmistakably vintage Prong.

I've been a longtime fan of since 1991,  twenty one years later circa 2012 sees Prong in a strange place and time where the music industry is concerned. A paradigm shift of major label involvement, is now relegated to an online presence. Sure Prong, I've felt has adapted as well as they could to the next wave of music promotion, but as I write this, something is very apparent there is age and it shows.

I feel Prong's era has moved on and is largely forgotten in today's scene. Sure they have cemented their legacy as the first of many DIY'er's (Do it yourself) groups, and the unflappable connections to the CBGB"s club scene in New York City when hardcore was pronounce in the mid to late 80's. In contextual  discussion, Prong's last formidable period was 1994's Cleansing. In today's standards that is ancient history or rather dinosaurish.

What will Prong today be like? Carved In Stone sees Tommy Victor bearing his ferocious teeth, while being in reflective mode. The problem I had with this offering was rather blandish, it meddles too much in the same riff foundation, and often the lyrics meander all over with predictable cliche overtones.

What I've always liked about Prong is the no holds barred approach to guitar tone. Mr. Victor has this down pat, as it works for his palate that he will paint. I also bring up Mr. Victor's connection to being Danzig's, and Ministry's guitar player. Because of this his time is often marauding and shifting and this pushes Prong into having infrequent releases.

Choosing to wait long periods, trying and perfecting the final result. I think that being the sole member of a group that has a revolving door of musicians doesn't give a lot of stability to this inconsistent foundation.

Today's scene is tailored to fit a younger, more virile audience. Sure Carved In Stone should reach a new generation of fans, but it gives the listener a great dose of what Prong is on the surface i.e. uncompromising, and full of attitude. For me nothing on Carved represents anything innovative. What Carved In Stone does provide is another record to an already established foundation.

For new fans, this is a great start, but I suggest trying out their Force Fed, and Primitive Origins first, followed by Beg To Differ, Prove You Wrong, and Cleansing records to get an idea of how Prong evolved. Thanks for reading.

B.