ROCKET REVIEW: PRONG – “Ruining Lives” (CD)

PRONG returns in 2014 with a goddamn electric new studio album entitled “Ruining Lives”, produced by mainman Tommy Victor. The follow up to the critically acclaimed “Carved In Stone” from 2012, this “thrill per second” collection of hard edged yet totally grooving songs definitely lives up to all my expectations. The first track “Turnover” is a total winner and finds Victor going for the big chorus. Let’s be frank here, he’s never been considered a great singer, but I have always dug that about Prong. If I wanted to listen to fucking Sebastian Bach, I would put his damn music on, right? There has always been something so gutteral about the sound of Victor’s vocals for me and as the years pass by it seems he’s become more and more effective in this area. Victor’s fierce groove metal machine slams the pedal to the metal on the next cuts “The Barriers”, “Windows Shut”, and my personal favorite, “Remove, Separate Self”.

I don’t know who the bassist or drummer is on the album because the information has been scarce with the release. I believe the drums were programmed, but that’s not something I really give a shit about to be point blank. In this modern age of music this sort of thing happens now more times than not, just ask around. As long as the finished product is kick ass, I no longer care who was involved, or what program was used. A lot of critics will argue with me on this but they are clueless as to how studio productions now work in the 21st century, certainly in metal music where underground musicians like Victor don’t have an endless budget for the record. To not have to hire a session drummer saves a major expense, and if the drum programming is well done you cannot even tell the difference most times between a recording between a real drummer and a programmed one. Again, I don’t know the whole story here I am just not gonna slam the band at this time for not using a real drummer when I understand the reality of how these records are being made today. If the drumming sounded shitty then I would have a problem, but it sounds all good to me.

The album’s title track “Ruining Lives” is a well written beast that grabs you by the face and slams you into Victor’s trusty arsenal of brutal riffs and highly effective melodies. The next set of hard hitters come in the form of the punishing, old school sounding “Absence Of Light”, the speed metal fast “The Book Of Change”, and the punky rocker “Self Will Run Riot”. The album finishes with the explosive “Come To Realize”, the pummeling “Chamber Of Thought”, and the catchy as all shit “Limitations And Validations”. Any fan of Prong from back in the day or someone who is dsicovering them for the first time will want to add this bad boy to their collection. Just be prepared to get your ass kicked.

TMD
TMD

ROCKET REVIEW:
[starreview tpl=16]
PRONG – “Ruining Lives” (CD)
(Steamhammer/SPV/2014)

1. Turnover
2. The Barriers
3. Windows Shut
4. Remove, Separate Self
5. Ruining Lives
6. Absence Of Light
7. The Book Of Change
8. Self Will Run Riot
9. Come To Realize
10. Chamber Of Thought
11. Limitations And Validations

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