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".
No Question
Prong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Accept the choice so glad you learned the ropes to try so far to go
The end you'll never know you have nothing
To follow the message a lost cause
And who cares about the lesson no question of the loss
In Prong's song "No Question," the lyrics seem to be directed towards someone who has finally been caught or exposed for something they've been doing. The singer seems almost happy that this person has been caught, proclaiming "so thrilled we got you now you can't break the game" and "so glad you learned the ropes." The singer seems to have a sense of relief that this individual can no longer cause any more harm or damage. However, despite this person's eventual downfall, there is still a sense of a long road ahead for them, as the line "try so far to go" suggests. The final lines of the song are bleak and final, declaring that this person's end is near and they have "nothing to follow." The singer also implies that there may have been a message or purpose behind this individual's actions, but ultimately it was a lost cause with no lesson learned.
Line by Line Meaning
So thrilled we got you now you can't break the game so glad,
We are excited that we have finally captured you, as you are unable to sabotage our plans; we feel accomplished.
Accept the choice so glad you learned the ropes to try so far to go
We are pleased that you have accepted our proposition, and we are happy that you are progressing, but still have a long way to go.
The end you'll never know you have nothing
You will never be able to predict how this will end, and you have no leverage.
To follow the message a lost cause
Attempting to adhere to our message is a fruitless endeavor.
And who cares about the lesson no question of the loss
The consequences of the situation are plain to see, and it is pointless to ponder the lesson to be learned from this loss.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: PARSONS, VICTOR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind