One could say without a shadow of a doubt that Tommy Victor is quite possibly one of the hardest working musicians in the heavy music at this time. While many others who have come after Tommy and Prong, are having a whinge about not being able to support their desires to produce music on a constant and everyday basis. We could easily imagine the man giving you a slap and telling you to harden up and just follow your dream.
But herein lies the dilemma, five PRONG releases in five years! I honestly feel as though now we are just getting music that, whilst it is seemingly great because Tommy and Prong are exactly that, great! It feels as if PRONG as an entity are a little stagnant and forced. Don’t get me wrong I like the new album, but I far from love it and would seriously reconsider parting with money to own it. It is merely a new PRONG album cover and thirteen more, as opposed to new songs.
Over the course of the past five years, let me try to break it down for you. Carved in Stone in 2012 was the foundations that followed on from where Cleansing in 1994 left off. But HELLO 2014 and we are gifted Ruining Lives. Here was THE PRONG album! All killer and no filler, full of the songs that would cement PRONG as a musical tour de force again. But then last year we got X – No Absolutes, which was ok. What I’d consider more of the same, could have been a bonus disk accompanying Ruining Lives in my honest opinion. And fast forward now to July 28th and the new PRONG album ZERO DAYS. I like it, cos it’s PRONG but that’s it. It is nothing more or less of what Tommy has done since 1987 on Force Fed. We can pick PRONG on hearing ‘em like a dirty nose. Like I said though this is not a good or a bad thing by any means, you readers must choose how you would spend your hard earned exactly the same way you’d pick your battles. Cautiously and well planned out. And unfortunately as ok as Zero Days may be with little nuggets of wow, there are by no means any thirty dollar riffs or anything new to hear here courtesy of PRONG in twenty seventeen.
I will always go in to bat for the calibre, passion, sheer drive and tenacity of Tommy Victor and all both he and PRONG stands for and produces but I call it like I see it and Zero Days feels unfortunately tired. Give PRONG and Tommy his songwriting passion a few years off and we will undoubtedly hear new amazing PRONG again in the future but PRONG’s future greatness isn’t found in 2017
