Rude Awakening

Prong | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 14, 1996)
• Original Release Date: May 14, 1996
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B000002AZP
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #60,754 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Controller

2. Caprice

3. Rude Awakening

4. Unfortunately

5. Face Value

6. Avenue of the Finest

7. Slicing

8. Without Hope

9. Man's Ruin

10. Innocence Gone

11. Dark Signs

12. Close the Door

13. Proud Division [*]

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Years before Helmet started playing staccato alternative metal, Prong was writing caustic stop-start riffs that bisected snarling vocals and stark, simple drum beats. At the time, the music was viewed as fragmentary and awkward, but in retrospect, Prong's dissonant, percussive approach pre-dated the stop-start attack of bands like Korn and Limp Bizkit, only without the hip-hop influences. Rude Awakening, Prong's swan song, is their most tuneful album, replete with semi-melodic vocals and percolating bass grooves. But even though it's not as brutal as the band's earlier work, it still packs quite a punch. Terry Date's production work (Pantera, deftones) imbues the guitar tones with a savage crunch and songs like "Mansruin," "Controller," and "Slicing" cut right to the core. --Jon Wiederhorn

Product Description

Re-release including 4 bonus tracks. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's Prong-Tastic!, February 24, 2004

By 

R. Kester "alienmeatsack" (Oklahoma) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rude Awakening (Audio CD)

Prong fans seem to be pretty intense when it comes to their Prong fix. I am one of those types who loved Prong so much that it hurt.

So when this album came out, I was estatic and rushed out to buy it. And I was not dissapointed. The electronic and industrial vibe mixed with our familiar Prong sound was music to my ears literally. And to this day I still love this album.

What I found the most interesting was that, the first song, "Controller" was actually a song Tommy had written and performed with Argyle Park for their album "Misguided". I had loved Argyle Park for a while at this point and found it interesting that I never caught the connection between them and Tommy.

Regardless, if you like your music to have energy and soul, make sure to get Rude Awakening. And be sure to check out Argyle Park, Circle of Dust as well.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Album Anything But A 'Rude Awakening'...Another Great Album..., November 8, 2005

By 

M. Jarrett "SoundgardenFanForLife" (New England, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rude Awakening (Audio CD)

Prong's CLEANSING is the definitive Prong album, and with cuts like "Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck", Prong defined the importance of metal in the rock genre. No one had any doubt that CLEANSING was a powerful record, complete with heavy riffs, first-rate drumwork, and throbbing and tuneful bass. If you thought Prong could not match that album, RUDE AWAKENING is nearly just like it's predecessor: heavy, uncompromising metal that's in-your-face and downright brutal. Although some of the album doesn't seem as heavy, the production work of Terry Date only helps to intensify Tommy Victor's guitar.

The title track is without a doubt one of the best tracks on the album, and it's cutting shards of guitar and Tommy's vocals, along with Ted Parson's excellent drum fills and Paul Raven's tuneful basswork, just compliment the track even more. It remains one of their best songs, and it caught radio to a degree. Opening track "Controller" is brutal, heavy, and doesn't let go of its grip on you. "Avenue of the Finest" also continues the intricate, drilling guitar riffs, right on through to the closing bonus cut, "Proud Division", which is undeniably a catchy, compact metal song. Other songs like "Mansruin" and "Face Value" also scale up on the volume, never letting up the intensity and showing the metal that Prong truly perfected on CLEANSING and even PROVE YOU WRONG or BEG TO DIFFER. Not one weak track, this is truly a splendid album.

It's interesting to note that after this album, there was no word or news from Prong until the announced release of SCORPIO RISING, and even the 100% LIVE album, which to a degree still managed to entertain us Prong fanatics. Had RUDE AWAKENING been Prong's swansong, it would have definitely been a strong one. If you're a fan of CLEANSING, no doubt you will immerse yourself in the precision and masterful metal of RUDE AWAKENING.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The art of going out with a bang, May 7, 2005

By 

N. Durham "Big Evil" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rude Awakening (Audio CD)

Prong mastermind Tommy Victor made sure that he and his band would go out with a bang with "Rude Awakening". Featuring the same kind of sludgy riffs with a touch of industrial beats that were featured on "Cleansing", and the production by Terry Date helps Prong sound the tightest they ever have on record. And much like "Cleansing", the only real problem with "Rude Awakening" is that it wears thin towards the end of the album. Predating the nu-metal wave that hit the metal world with the arrival of Limp Bizkit and the rise of Korn, Prong choose to bow out, and they still never received the recognition they so much deserved: much like other bands in the 90's such as Helmet and Corrosion of Conformity. Standout tracks include the title track, "Face Value", and "Slicing"; which feature Tommy and crew doing some of their finest work. Tommy would return in 2003 with a spanking new lineup to re-start Prong, but "Rude Awakening" and everything before it is the real deal.