Courtesy: Steamhammer/SPV Records
Later this month, Prong will release its latest album to the masses, and the record, Zero Days, is one of this year’s top new hard rock and metal offerings. The record, the 12th full-length studio recording from Tommy Victor and his ever-rotating roster of fellow musicians, is everything that audiences have come to expect from Prong – heavy yet infectious riffs and grooves, and equally hard-hitting lyrical content. That is evidenced early in the album’s run in the form of ‘Divide and Conquer,’ which will be discussed shortly. The full-on thrash riffs and social commentary of ‘Forced Into Tolerance’ shows just as much as ‘Divide and Conquer’ what makes this record another enjoyable offering from Prong. It will be discussed later. ‘Self Righteous Indignation’ also serves, with its musical arrangement and lyrical content, why this record represents everything that Prong’s fans have come to expect from the band. It is hardly the last of the songs included in this record that serves that purpose, too. The record boasts 10 other songs that could just as easily be used to show why Prong has crafted another solid offering in Zero Days and why it is. The whole of the album’s 13 songs shows the album to be, again, one of this year’s top new hard rock and metal albums.
Veteran hard rock outfit Prong’s latest album Zero Days is everything that Prong’s fans have come to expect from the band and then some. The album, Tommy Victor’s 12th album under the Prong moniker, utilizes a solid mix of musical arrangements and hard-hitting lyrical content to make it one of this year’s top new hard rock and metal albums.
That is evidenced early on in the driving composition ‘Divide And Conquer.’ The melodic hard rock arrangement at the song’s center harkens back to some of the best songs included in the band’s 1996 album Rude Awakening and its forebear, Cleansing (1994). That is evidenced through the song’s straight forward guitar arrangement and Victor’s own vocal delivery style. Drummer Art Cruz’s own work behind the kit adds to that feel even more as does that of bassist Mike Longworth. The whole of those parts makes this arrangement one of the album’s best musical compositions. The songs’ lyrical content builds on the foundation created by the arrangement and strengthens the song even more.
The lyrical content presented in ‘Divide and Conquer’ strengthens the foundation created through the song’s musical arrangement because it hits just as hard as the arrangement with its commentary. Victor sings in the song’s lead verse, “There’s no relief/There’s just regret/Want to forget/Just can’t believe/Really don’t want any part of that/Just another bad experience/For what’s positive or negative/Maybe it’s all just relative.” He and his band mates go on to sing in the song’s chorus, “You can’t go through life without these conditions/Divide and conquer/You can always rely on opposition/Face the sorrow/You can’t go through life without some division/Divide and conquer…” This comes across as a message about accepting the good and bad in life rather than just the good. This is of course only this critic’s own interpretation and should not be taken as gospel. That interpretation is made just as much as Victor sings in the song’s second verse, “You only see what you gotta get/You cannot get what you cannot see/Always forced into compromise/Always have to make the sacrifice/Things are not what they seem to be/Living in a false reality.” From here the song returns to its chorus before making its way to its end, reminding listeners that negative will always come with positive, and that people should expect both sides in life; that only seeing one side is close-minded. Again, this is only this critic’s own interpretation. Hopefully it is somewhere in the ballpark of being right. Regardless, it can be agreed by everyone that whatever the message, it definitely is hard-hitting. When that message is coupled with the song’s driving musical arrangement, the urgency of understanding the message is driven home even more, making this song both musically and lyrically a work that so many people (especially in today’s world) should hear, proving why it is such an important addition to Zero Days. It is not the album’s only stand out song. ‘Forced Into Tolerance’ is another of the songs that serves to show why Zero Days is another solid offering from Prong, despite what some critics might have people believe.
‘Divide and Conquer’ is one of the best examples of how much Tommy Victor and company have to offer audiences on its latest album Zero Days. Its driving musical arrangement and equally hard-hitting lyrical content couple to make the song a work that will entertain audiences while also leaving them thinking quite a bit. The impact from the song’s musical and lyrical content makes it only one of the album’s best additions. ‘Forced Into Tolerance’ hits just as hard as ‘Divide and Conquer.’ Just as with the aforementioned work, that is due in part to the song’s musical arrangement, which instantly conjures thoughts of Slayer, Hatebreed and others of that ilk. That speaks for itself. Considering that, the next step here is to examine the song’s lyrical content, which at least to this critic seems to be a commentary about the bigotry and racism that has become far too prevalent across the nation ever since the rise to power of the nation’s current “leader.” That is inferred right off the top as Victor sings, “Forced into tolerance of what we disdain/Being irrational is how we exist/Someone goes around and it makes no sense/They are labeled and then disgraced/Caught in the ignorance and try to explain.” He goes on to bring out the foolishness of the hateful views that are being expressed by singing, “I don’t care if you exist…Don’t f****** tell me it is what it is.” He goes on in similar fashion from here with the same musical and lyrical fire, indicting those close-minded masses of the nation (and the world possibly) pointing out the dangers of their views, and the foolishness of those views. It is a powerful statement both musically and lyrically that will be timely as long as such people and views exist in the world. Considering this, it is clearly evident why this song is so important to the overall presentation of Prong’s new album. It is not the last of the record’s key compositions either. ‘Self Righteous Indignation’ is yet another of the album’s most important songs.
‘Divide and Conquer’ and ‘Forced Into Tolerance’ are both key additions to Prong’s 12th full-length studio recording. That is thanks to the songs’ powerhouse musical arrangements and the equally hard-hitting commentaries contained within each song. The whole of those elements within each song makes each song a clear example of what makes Zero Days such a strong new effort from Prong. They are not the album’s only key works, though. ‘Self Righteous Indignation’ is yet another of the album’s most important works. As with the previously discussed songs, that is due in part to the song’s musical arrangement, which can easily be compared to works from the likes of Fear Factory, White Chapel and other similar acts with its heavy, crunching, down-tuned guitars, pounding drums and equally heavy bass line. Keeping this in mind, it is only one part of what makes the song stand out so distinctly from the record’s other tracks. The song’s lyrical content is just as important to note here as its musical arrangement.
The lyrical content presented in ‘Self Righteous Indignation’ seems to this critic at least as a commentary about those people who think themselves so much better than everyone else. That is inferred as Victor sings in the song’s lead verse, “A victim/Of the system/Who gives a damn about your needs/Won’t listen/To criticism/Disgust for everyone who cheats/My heart is cold/I cannot pray/I can’t look way/What may unfold/Your dismay/Just total disdain/Self/Righteous/Indignation.” That seeming commentary continues in the song’s second verse as Victor sings, “No wisdom/So distant/A great sense of psychic grief/existence/Of symptoms/distaste for everything that’s cheap/It’s always known/All the demands/The helping hands/have no control/What you don’t have/Gets way out of hand.” Once again, this is all just this critic’s own interpretation and should not be taken as the only interpretation. It only seems to this critic that this song, lyrically, addresses those people who have that unnecessary God complex of sorts. Sadly, there are far too many people of this sort around the world, and if that is indeed what Victor is addressing here, he does quite the job of addressing the matter. Keeping that in mind, the song’s musical arrangement expertly couples with the power in the song’s lyrics and Victor’s own powerhouse vocal delivery. It delivers a message of pure anger aimed at those people in question; a message that, again if that is the intended message, definitely hits home in a big way, showing once more why this song is such a key addition to Zero Days. It is hardly the last of the songs that could be examined to show what makes Zero Days such a strong new effort from Prong. Any of the other 10 songs that fill out the rest of the album could be examined just as easily as this work and the previously discussed works. Considering this, the whole of this record shows Prong at its prime; a work that will definitely impress any of the band’s fans new or old. They make the record a work that deserves a spot on any critic’s list of the year’s top new hard rock and metal albums.
Prong’s latest full-length studio recording Zero Days shows Tommy Victor at his prime along with the band that he founded so many years ago. It is a record that shows despite all of the band’s lineup and label changes, is still as relevant and powerful today as it was in its infancy. That is exhibited from start to finish through the album’s powerhouse musical arrangements and its equally hard-hitting lyrical content. The two elements together make the album in whole one of this year’s top new hard rock and metal albums. It will be available Friday, July 28 via Steamhammer/SPV Records. More information on Zero Days is available online now along with all of Prong’s latest news and more at:
Website: http://www.prongmusic.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/prongmusic
Twitter: http://twitter.com/prongmusic
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