PRONG — Ruining Lives (review)

PRONG — Ruining Lives album cover Album · 2014 · Groove Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
Time Signature
Absence of light...

Genre: crossover / groove

Admittedly, I have not really been the biggest Prong-fan in the world, and the only prong-album that I have really listened to extensively is their 90's classic "Cleansing". With accusations of Prong now really just being a hobby project of Tommy Victor's, one may not necessarily feel compelled to check out their output at all costs. Always willing to give people the benefit of the doubt, I nonetheless decided to give their latest album "Ruining Lives" a listen.

And, well, I was positively surprised. The album is characterized by a combination of crunchy thrashy riffs and Prong's minimalistic industrial-groove style. While elements from both orientations appear side by side in some songs, as is the case of 'Come to Realize', a number of songs fall either on the thrash-side or the industrial-groove side. Tracks which are more oriented towards that latter include 'Absence of light', 'Self Will Run Riot', and 'Windows Shut'. In contrast, tracks like 'The Book of Change', 'Chamber of Thought', and 'The Barriers' embrace a fierce and aggressive crossover thrash metal style. The strongest track on the album is the title track which even ventures into extreme metal territory. What ties the entire album together is the use of relatively melodic choruses, performed in Tommy Victor's characteristically one-dimensional vocal style, which does seem a bit more flexible on this release than usual.

The songs on the album are generally straightforward, but, compared to the band's 1990s releases, the drumming is considerably more dynamic. Still, there are stylistic overlaps between "Ruining Lives" and "Beg To Differ" (which is an album I definitely need to listen more to), and I think that fans of the band's pre-"Cleansing" output might like "Ruining Lives" too.

"Ruining Lives" is a fine album which neatly captures Prong's trademark aesthetics and ultimately appeals to both fans of thrash metal and alternative industrial-groove metal.
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