***THIS GIG HAS BEEN CANCELLED***
Forever presents
PRONG – CANCELLED
+ guests
Doors: 8pm
Tickets: €25
Mon 15 June
Andrews Lane Theatre
CBGB’s was THE venue of an era; an embodiment of what it meant to be in a band, striving for
everything you got. In many ways the birthplace of American Punk and the No Wave movement,
one can say the music created there was -at its very essence — a revolutionary influence, and its
corrosive nature has infected millions of people through the years. One in particular, a soundman
on the staff, was tainted by the experience, changing him into an iconic corner stone of metal; I
am, of course, referring to Prong’s very own Tommy Victor.
Dissonant, dark, detached -and at times rather deranged –Tommy Victor, founder and frontman
of Prong, always swings his riffs low, hard and squarely at your skull. Victor never did ‘happiness’
and Prong didn’t necessarily give a shit about making the ‘feel good album of the year‘. For
Victor, high-praise is best served in the packed clubs and sweaty mosh-pits he plays in around
the world. This is all the proof he needs of a dedicated fan base which never misses the band’s
shows, and loyally buys albums while ‘critics’ consistently miss the boat. Every time Prong was
ignored by the mainstream -whilst revered through the underground –or ripped off by lesser,
spineless musicians who don’t have a creative pot of their own to piss in – Prong just got harder,
stronger and more pissed off. It fuelled them even more, and drove them even further. This is not
your parent’s band; this is brutality with no regrets amplified, distorted, and turned up to 11.
With its roots deeply set in the fertile soil acts like Die Kreuzen, Bad Brains, Killing Joke, The
Swans, and Live Skull, Prong has grown into a force of nature. Their first releases on renowned
indie punk/alternative label Southern Records (Spigot in the US), were ‘Primitive Origins’ and
‘Force Fed.’ From those early moments, to the present, Prong has demonstrated the perfection
that it strives for time and again. By taking traditional rock song-structures, merging them with
simple steel bar riffs, atonalism, art-rock atmospheres, they’ve culminated a crushing sound that
pleases your ears as it liquefies your brain. It’s no surprise that Prong gained popularity rapidly,
leading Epic Records to come sniffing in 1989. Like fans all over the world, Epic recognized the
power and force of Prong’s irreverent sound, and snapped the band up. But true to form, Prong
didn’t conform to an easily swallowed corporate sound. Prong’s sixth album, ‘Rude Awakening’
was released in 1996. It pummeled the charts at #74, sold 10,000 units in America in one week,
and added another major notch in the band‘s belt. Then, Epic Records decided Prong wasn’t
selling enough records and cut their contract 3 weeks later.
From 1996 to 2002, Prong took a hiatus and Victor played with the likes of Rob Zombie and
Glenn Danzig before re-surfacing in 2002. Then he met Monte Pittman (fresh off the bus from
Texas) via White Zombie drummer Ivan De Prume, and the two clicked perfectly. Pittman went
on to land the guitar slot in Madonna’s band, a position he still holds, as well as playing bass in
Prong. After ’02, Tommy hooked up with Ministry’s leader -and 13th Planet Records label boss
–Al Jourgensen. Recognizing a kindred itinerant spirit, Jourgensen was delighted to sign Prong
to his indie imprint, 13th Planet Records. How does Al show ya he loves your music? Well, for
Prong, he threw open the doors to Sonic Ranch Studios, and Jourgensen’s own 13th Planet
Studios, in El Paso, TX. Recognizing the importance of their independence, Al didn’t produce
the album. Instead, he left it in the capable hands of Tommy and associate producer Monte
Pittman. However, Al being Al, did leave his fingerprints on the album; lending a hand by mixing
“The Banishment.” With Pittman switching over to bass guitar, and drummer Aaron Rossi joining
up, Prong was suddenly locked into a murderous bottom end pulse that drove them back into full
overdrive. 2007 marked the release of Power of The Damager, Prong’s best album in a long
career, and the perfect album for a new era of Prong. A marriage of anger and determination,
PoTD is a Grade-A steel toe to the jaw; -a skull-splitting barrage of metal mayhem and mastery in
its truest form. In fact, Jourgensen states “…Tommy is back with his best record ever…” and he
ain’t lying. The true power of this album is that it’s real. No silly contrived bullshit here; it’s genuine
and raw, just like the men behind it. Every track on Power of The Damager is a chapter in the
lives of Prong’s members, and you can hear how much they’ve suffered for these songs in every
note.
As Victor and Prong set about for a 30-city European tour, 13th Planet Records releases Power
of The Damn MiXXXer on May 12th, 2009 – a brutally orchestrated remix album that’s guaranteed
to kick your ass again -only harder. Prong is a refreshingly feral fist-fuck in an era of mediocrity.
Artists ranging from Rob Caggiano (Anthrax), Virus (Dope), DJ? Acucrack, to Professional
Murder Music pay homage to Tommy V. with their own balls to the wall treatments of ‘Damager’.
For guys like Virus and PMM’s Brian Harrah, Victor is a true pioneer and tastemaker that never
bent or broke to label pressure or poseurs striving for fame. Brian Harrah offers, ‘Prong has
always been one of those bands that no matter what album or song you hear, you always know
it’s them. They have their own identity because of it. There’s integrity and respect for a band like
that in a music world that tends to be filled with fakes.’ Not to be left out Virus echoes, ‘I was
psyched that I had the opportunity to do a remix for Prong. It was pretty intense, and an honor, to
have worked on this pioneering band’s music, especially knowing the influence it has had on
Dope, and many others.’
Upon Prong’s return from Europe late summer, the band returns to Jourgensen’s compound to
record the next chapter in the Prong legacy, this time with Jourgensen planted firmly in the
producer’s seat, which is scheduled to see the light of day early 2010.
With Prong, what you hear is what you get. No extras, no bullshit. Just pure and undiluted brutal
fucking metal drilling itself into your mind, and scarring you for life. Got it?
Additional contributions by Benny Hell and Rafi Shlosman
http://www.foreverpresents.ie/
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