Power of the Damager

Prong

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 2, 2007)
• Original Release Date: October 2, 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: 13th Planet Records
• ASIN: B000V9KENI
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #112,360 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
There is a price to pay to being the first at anything. Prong has been forging their own brutal route since their inception only to see their sound borrowed, perverted or outright stolen. Power of the Damager is not so much a return to form as it is an aggressive Call to Arms. A battle cry in which Prong takes on all corners and reclaims their rightful seat at the head of the table. The latest incarnation of Prong seems to have given new life to Tommy Victor, who rips into every track with the ferocity of a man who has nothing left to prove. Words drip with an intensity conjured from the depths of the soul, when wisdom and life experience are of little comfort in a world of indifference and suffering. Guitars viciously slice like a razor’s edge carving through your insides. There is a sense of focus and intensity on Power of the Damager solidifying who is the Student and who is the Master. Monte Pittman (bass) and Aaron Rossi (drums) rise to the occasion and deliver the most punishing rhythm section to ever record under the Prong moniker. Prong has returned to doing what they do best, and yet somehow it feels like something brand new all over again.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars AWESOME, October 1, 2007

By	factory35 "donc" (usa) - See all my reviews

Prong returns after a few years with a beautifully dark cd! The riff master Tommy V has the pedal on overdrive here. This CD is much better sounding than 'Scorpio Rising' and seems a mile away in terms of quality. I liked the previous disc, but it was missing something. This CD misses nothing.

I wont do a track by track breakdown, but will say that the best tracks are Looking for Them, The Banishment, Worst of it, Cant Stop the Bleeding (catchy, accesible),Bad Fall (old school Prong).. But the tracks are all worthy. It works as a whole. No HORRID songs on the whole set!

If you liked Prong before but were disappointed by 'Scorpio' then you will love this. Sounds like it should have followed 'Rude Awakening'. But it is heavy! The riffs really get you going. Plenty of those Prong-esque guitar squeals throughout.

The grooves are there in droves and the mix is much better than its predecesor. Prong has delivered a great CD and i am very glad that the band has carried on. Old Prong fans will chew this up. new metal fans can learn from one of the best riff generators out there.. Great effort. Am very happy with this release. Definately one of '07's and Prongs best.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Return To Form From Proto-Post-Metal Progenitors, April 11, 2008

By	Joel Israel "Professional Shark Wrestler" (Cedar City, UT United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

One of the least-known yet most influential bands in the hardcore metal scene of the early nineties, New York godfathers Prong have never really gotten the exposure and success they deserve. Despite a string of excellent experimental metal releases, many of which are now considered classic ("Beg To Differ" and "Cleansing" both come to mind), Tommy Victor and co. have never really broken through to the level of many of the bands who steal their riffs and style. Perhaps timing was an issue, as they came along during the birth of the grunge scene and the subsequent death of metal's popularity- but they have always also been a boundary-pushing and avant-garde metal band...hard to categorize and pigeonhole, combining elements of industrial, hardcore, punk, and thrash metal into a heady brew long before the so-called "post-metal" scene exploded over the last few years. Basically, these guys were post-metal before post-metal.

Prong is back with a vengeance and a new (still power trio) lineup, with Victor still the nucleus around which the rest of the band accretes, and this is without a doubt the best album they have released in close to a decade. He definately leads the charge, as well, with all of the patented Prong-isms I have come to know and love. Chuncky, groove-oriented riffing peppered with squealing harmonics. Sudden, dramatic shifts in speed and texture. Nihilistic lyrics describing urban and inner decay and struggle. Bizarre, "outside the box" unorthodox song structures and dissonant atmospherics. And happily, better vocal performances this time around than the nearly unlistenable "Scorpio Rising". A very solid, welcome return to all of the things that made Prong so great and influential to me when I was a teenager. Recommended!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars PRONG'S BEST YET!!!, October 27, 2007

By	Jeff B. Scholz (La Jolla, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As a longtime Prong devotee (all the way back from the 'Primitive Origins' days) I can honestly say that this is, without question, Tommy Victor's greatest work yet (with no shortage of praise for his new A'-Gunners, Monte Pittman and Aaron Rossi). Absolutely amazing music. I can't stop listening to this album! Mature lyrical content and blistering, innovative tunes... it doesn't get better than this!