Prong is a metal band from New York City, New York, US, formed in 1986. Pro… Read Full Bio ↴Prong is a metal band from New York City, New York, US, formed in 1986. Prong had two independent releases, Primitive Origins and Force Fed. The albums attracted the attention of Epic Records, which signed the trio in 1989. The group disbanded in 1997 after the Rude Awakening tour, but re-formed in 2003. A pioneer of the urban scene, Prong is fronted by Tommy Victor.
Prong was founded in 1986 by singer/guitarist Tommy Victor (then a soundman at New York City's renowned CBGB's). With bassist Mike Kirkland (formely of NYHC band Damage and doorman at CBGB’s) and ex-Swans drummer Ted Parsons, Prong released two independent CDs that were noted for their brutal hardcore sound.

Epic Records saw the band's potential and signed them in 1989. Prong's major label debut album Beg to Differ, was released in 1990.

In the following year, Kirkland left the band and was replaced by Ex-Flotsam and Jetsam bassist Troy Gregory. Prong issued their fourth release Prove You Wrong which saw the band experiment with programming and electronic samples while still retaining an aggressive yet melodic sensibility.

By 1994, Troy Gregory was out of the band and was replaced by Paul Raven (bassist) and John Bechdel (keyboard), both from Killing Joke and Murder, Inc. The new line up released Cleansing (Prong’s 5th major release). With a strong industrial sound that still managed to be hard and heavy, Cleansing contained songs that are still considered Prong classics ("Broken Peace" and "Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck") and is Prong’s most successful release to date. The videos for these two songs became staples of MTV’s legendary Headbangers Ball.

Prong's sixth album Rude Awakening was released in 1996. The album was not as successful as the last three albums. Shortly thereafter Parsons left the band to join Godflesh. Tommy Victor left New York and moved to Los Angeles. As the band Prong sat idle, Tommy Victor worked with legends of the rock world, including Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, celldweller and Glenn Danzig.

In 2002, Victor re-formed Prong with bassist Brian Perry, drummer Dan Laudo and guitarist Monte Pittman (Madonna). In 2002, after a 42-show American tour that was recorded for a live CD (100% Live, Locomotive Music) Prong entered the studio and recorded a new CD titled Scorpio Rising which was received with mixed responses.

Victor played on and off again with Glen Danzig from 1998 -2005 in between time with Prong. His final goal of playing and writing on a Danzig record was met with Circle of Snakes in 2004.

Prong released a live 2-disc DVD in 2005 entitled "The Vault" which features performances from the Hulstsfred and With Full Force festivals and a full show in Amsterdam. This disc has Mike Longworth on bass as well, who later replaced Perry. As a result of the drum performance on Scorpio Rising , band members Tommy Victor and Monte Pittman decided a change needed to be made. This resulted in the firing of Dan Laudo and the enlistment Aaron Rossi, who used to be in the bands Strife (Victory Records), Shelter (Century Media Records), John 5 (Shrapnel Records), and Ankla (Bieler Bros. Records)

Victor and Raven joined Ministry in 2005 to write and tour in support of their album Rio Grande Blood (2006). They were nominated for a Grammy in 2007 for the song Senior Peligro in the "Best Metal Performance" category. The two also appear on Ministry's follow up album The Last Sucker (2007), although in a more limited capacity.

On June 4th, 2007, Prong posted a MySpace bulletin stating that they were recording in El Paso, Texas. The band left Locomotive Music, and were signed to Al Jourgensen's 13th Planet Records, who released their latest album Power of the Damager on October 2, 2007.

The band embarked on the "Slicing Across America" and "Slicing Across Europe" tours supporting Power of the Damager in 2007 and early 2008. Joining Tommy Victor in the current live membership of the band is bassist Monte Pittman and drummer Aaron Rossi.

Paul Raven died of an apparent heart attack in his sleep on October 20, 2007 at the age of 46. He was recording with French recording artists Treponem Pal on their new album with Ted Parsons at the time of his death.

Aaron Rossi was joining Ministry as their new drummer on the "C U LaTour" which started in March 2008.

In February 2008, Headbanger's Ball premiered the video "Power Of The Damager".

Messages inside of me
Prong Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Subconsciously
Constant conscious effort
Reminding me
Why do I forget this?

Inside of me
Master has a message,
All of the clutter in heads of another

Something left behind
Lacking in design
The moments surrender to endless pretenders
Confidence annulled, positive for sure

To guide me every move, directed by a fool
Whatever be the route, whatever be the road
Whatever be the road
Whatever be the road

Subconsciously
Constant conscious effort
Reminding me
Why do I forget this?

Inside of me
Master has a message,
The one undercover
The cause of the trouble
Sudden sense of doom
Get out while I could
Something to recover
What is the bother?

Ever undermind in every look I find

To guide me every move, directed by a fool
Whatever be the route, whatever be the road
Whatever be the road
Whatever be the road

Subconsciously
Constant conscious effort
Reminding me
Why do I forget this?

Inside of me
Master has a message,
Inside of me
Master has a message,

Decidedly inside of me emphatically
Master has a message

Overall Meaning

The song "Messages inside of me" by Prong is a reflection on the internal struggle that the singer is facing within themselves. The first verse talks about the constant subconscious effort that the singer is making to remind themselves of something that they seem to forget. They are trying to remember what is inside of them and what their master is trying to tell them. The clutter in the heads of others is causing confusion and making it hard for the singer to focus on what really matters.

The chorus repeats the message that the master has a message inside of the singer. The second verse talks about how the message that the singer's master is conveying is the cause of the trouble and the sudden sense of doom that the singer feels. The singer is trying to recover something that has been lost, and is asking what the bother is. The singer is worried about being undermined by every look they find and is being guided by a fool.

The final chorus emphasizes the idea that the master has a message emphatically inside of the singer. The song seems like a battle between the singer's own thoughts and the positive guiding voice of their master, with the fear and doubts of the singer weighing down their confidence. It provides a glimpse into the personal struggles and battles that occur within someone's own mind.

Line by Line Meaning

Subconsciously
Without realizing it

Constant conscious effort
Continuously putting in the work

Reminding me
Prompting me to remember

Why do I forget this?
Questioning the memory lapse

Inside of me
Within myself

Master has a message,
I have a deeper understanding or intuition

All of the clutter in heads of another
The distractions from others' minds

Something left behind
A lingering feeling

Lacking in design
Not well-planned or thought out

The moments surrender to endless pretenders
Time wasted on things that aren't genuine

Confidence annulled, positive for sure
Feeling defeated despite knowing better