Albums Revisited: Prong’s Cleansing Turns 20. Looking back at an underrated, yet influential masterpiece.

This Saturday marks the 20th anniversary of Cleansing, Prong’s 1994 metal masterwork.

Prong are a band I’ve covered on several occasions (click here for my interview with band leader Tommy Victor).

They’re a band that deserved to be huge, yet never made the full jump to mainstream success. Which is baffling, given their influential sound and hooky riffs.

Click here for my review of Prong’s 2012 album Carved Into Stone.

One reason for their underdog status is their idiosyncratic nature; the band was an ever-changing beast. Cleansing marked a slight change to their sound. It was still heavy, but not as thrashy as earlier work; more groove driven, and peppered with experimental industrial textures.

The album was produced by Terry Date, who’d previously produced landmark albums Vulgar Display Of Power for Pantera, and BadMotorFinger for Soundgarden. His muscular production suited their sound perfectly

Victor’s scalpel sharp tone, beefy riffs, and squealing pinch harmonics reign supreme, in particular on the two biggest hits of Prong’s career; the locomotive assault of Whose Fist Is It Anyway, and the whip crack assault of You Snap Your Fingers, You Snap Your Neck (which was given exposure on Beavis and Butthead).

Equally cool are the swaggering wah driven Broken Peace, the machine gun blast of Cut-Rate and the nihilistic snarl of Another Worldly Device.

And while Prong is ultimately Victor’s show, he had a killer rhythm section; (the late) bassist Paul Raven from Killing Joke and drummer Ted Parson’s (formerly of Swans). They hammered home the post punk angst, which gave new depth to the metallic chug.

Victor has always been a big Killing Joke fan, and their influence is pronounced on atmospheric tracks like One Outnumbered and No Question.

And while the album draws upon the industrial sound of bands like Ministry (who Victor would eventally play with in the 00’s), it was more nuanced and subtle; less soundbites than sonic textures; what sounds like bowling pins being knocked over in You Snap Your Fingers, or the military march in Cut-Rate. All add to the caustic nature of Victor’s vocals and lyrics.

Those lyrics ring even truer today than in the 90’s; the struggle of the working class is perfectly epitomized in You Snap Your Fingers; You want the good life/You break your back/You snap your fingers, you snap your neck. It feels like a mission statement, a cathartic primal scream.

All in all Cleansing is a winner from start to finish, and became a sonic touchstone for many other artists; both Trent Reznor and Marilyn Manson were huge fans (Victor played on Antichrist Superstar), and his serrated tone and style were also influential for White Zombie guitarist Jay Yuenger and band’s like Korn and Deftones.

Prong also toured with Pantera, and it irks me that they weren’t as equally popular. They deserved it.

Click here for my interview with Phil Anselmo

After the modest success of Cleansing, the band would go on to make Rude Awakening, an even more underrated work. And while mainstream success eluded them, they’re still going strong, appreciated by fans like myself, who hold them in the regard they deserve.

Cleansing is a landmark work. It sounds as good today as it did in 1994. Play it at full blast and try not to nod/bang your head. You’ll fail. It rules.

Want to own Cleansing on iTunes or Amazon? Click on the links below. And click here to read about another album turning 20 this week; Jar of Flies by Alice In Chains.

[amazon_image id=”B0012GMV1W” link=”true” target=”_blank” size=”medium” ]Cleansing[/amazon_image]

And check out our full Albums Revisited series below:

Depeche Mode: Ultra

Ministry: The Land Of Rape And Honey

The Cult Electric

Smashing Pumpkin’s Siamese Dream

The Sisters Of Mercy: Floodland

PiL: Album

Jane’s Addiction Nothing’s Shocking

Alice In Chains: Jar of Flies

Radiohead: Pablo Honey

Gene Loves Jezebel: The House of Dolls