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".

Prong-Face Value
Prong Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You've never come close to seeing what I've always had to face.
Image blatant and obvious
What's there more to assess?
Never looking beyond the frontal

All your present fears.
I hope to never be caught again by the visions too clear.
Erase it.

Deface it.
Conceal it.

Just take it for the face value
Concealment, nonetheless.
Just take it for the face value
You never know what you may get.
A wise man carried on about what you see is what you get.

I've peeled off covers,
Revealing what I want to forget.

Why not go base yourself on simple visages.
Scarring the complexion or scratching the surface.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Prong's song "Face Value" reflect an individual's frustration with the limitations of perception. The singer feels as though they have faced challenges that others cannot comprehend or empathize with because they only see what is on the surface. The "image blatant and obvious" refers to the way that people tend to only evaluate others based on their appearance or first impressions. There is a sense of resignation in the line "what's there more to assess?" - as though the singer has given up trying to make others understand the depth of their struggles.

The second verse reinforces this feeling of isolation, with the singer hoping to "never be caught again by the visions too clear." This could refer to traumatic experiences that are difficult to process or move past. The lines "erase it, deface it, conceal it" suggest that the singer has had to hide their pain in order to fit in or be accepted by others. The chorus, with its repetition of the phrase "just take it for the face value," highlights the idea that people are often judged by their external appearance rather than their substance. The final lines of the song, "scarring the complexion or scratching the surface," suggest that dealing with surface-level perceptions is not only frustrating, but potentially damaging as well.

Line by Line Meaning

You've never come close to seeing what I've always had to face.
I have encountered hardships that you cannot even fathom.

Image blatant and obvious
The appearance is clear and undeniable.

What's there more to assess?
There is nothing more to analyze beyond what is apparent.

Never looking beyond the frontal
You fail to examine beyond the surface.

All your present fears.
Your current anxieties and trepidations.

I hope to never be caught again by the visions too clear.
I wish to never experience vivid and dreadful visions again.

Erase it.
Eliminate the memories or images from my mind.

Deface it.
Destroy or damage the appearance.

Conceal it.
Hide or cover up the evidence.

Just take it for the face value
Accept it for what it appears to be.

Concealment, nonetheless.
Even though it may be hidden from view.