Back in the late 1980’s New York was a lot more Taxi Driver; in an age before gentrification and economic cleansing it was an environment that was visceral and violent and defined by rising crime rates and racial strife (if you require clarification, check out Sick Of It All’s ‘Just Look Around’). Fortunately, such conditions are fertile ground for great art and ensured music from that conurbation would have a hard, gritty quality. Case in point being Prong, a band formed in the notorious Lower East Side and with roots in CBGBs and electronic pioneers Swans. A four decade career has seen countless band members come and go, but the one thing that’s remained constant has been their hard-arsed sound, and the eponymously-title Prong serves up a (lucky) thirteen gnarly tunes.
A self-titled album is usually reserved for a band’s debut or used at a moment of rebirth, yet Prong’s fourteenth long player sits somewhere in the middle of those two poles. There has been no reinvention of the wheel, Prong still delivering that chugging, riff heavy sound we all fell in love with, and while this isn’t a case of regression, it does feel as if the band are playing with the same kind of energy and urgency that characterised their early career. Another link to those formative years is the band operating as a trio (1994’s Cleansing, for example, was recorded as a quartet) and a three-piece is a combination that really suits their sonic assault. Like all the very best trios (Motörhead, Venom, Warfare), Prong derive a lot of power from reduced numbers; with no place to hide each band member must come to the fore and that means opening track ‘The Banner’ gets up close and personal. With spittle flying in the listener’s face, vocalist (and guitarist) Tommy Victor barks his lyrics like a Sargent Major whilst the rhythm section of Christopher Dean (bass) and Tyler Bogliole (drums) pin us to the ropes and keep us there for the rest of the record.
The band’s first album for Napalm Records finds Prong indulging in reductionism; with some judicial pruning it feels that all impurities have been filtered out until all that’s left is pure Prong. It’s a riff heavy attack, but when solos do appear then they are succinct and to the point, the band don’t use two notes when one will suffice and as such ‘Fear The Sun’ is a punchy affair that leaves the listener battered and bruised (but in the best possible way, of course). Yet for all their drive and power, Prong never lose sight of important stuff like melody and song structure, making songs like ‘Commonsense Resolution’ tracks you can mosh and dance too.
Amongst the thirteen tracks are two bonus cuts, most notably a cover of Bananarama’s ‘Cruel Summer’ that’s sure to raise a few eyebrows (and smiles). This is undoubtedly one of Prong’s best albums and as you can imagine, that’s up against some serious competition.
- Prong is released via Napalm Records on 6th November 2026.
- Prong Official Website
Track List:
- The Banner
- New Commission
- The Uprising
- Uncertain Truth
- Fear The Sun
- Commonsense Resolution
- Doomed World
- Proportionate Response
- Transgression
- Simulated Drowning
- Our Continuance
Bonus Tracks:
- Out Of Body
- Cruel Summer
