SPIN IT BACK PRONG: RUDE AWAKENING

By: Philip Sayblack

Hard rock/metal act Prong has, for four decades now, entertained audiences the world over with its music.  Over the course of now 13 albums, the band (founded by its sole remaining original member and front man, Tommy Victor) has remained just under the mainstream radar but has still managed to maintain its place in rock and metal’s upper echelons.  There was a point at which, though, the band’s fate came very much into question.  That moment came in 1996 following the release of its then latest album, Rude Awakening.  The band’s fifth album (and final for Epic Records – the band had released its previous three albums, Beg To Differ, Prove You Wrong, and Cleansing, through Epic Records) would end up being its last for nearly a decade after the band broke up following its release.  A variety of reasons played into the breakup according to available information, including the album’s sales numbers.  That is so interesting because in hindsight, Rude Awakening has really gone on to become one of the band’s most important albums.  Musically, it was a huge risk for Tommy Victor and his then band mates.  Additionally, it was a record ahead of its time in regard to its musical content.  The lyrical themes spread throughout the album also play into its importance and appeal.  Keeping all of this in mind, Rude Awakening really proves to be a record that every Prong and hard rock/metal fan should hear at least once.

Rude Awakening, Prong’s fifth album is one of the most important offerings from the veteran hard rock/metal outfit if not its most important.  That is due in no small part to its musical body.  Anyone who knows Prong’s body of work up to that point will agree, the record’s arrangements were at the time, a huge stylistic departure for the band.  They lean more in an industrial direction than anything that Victor and his fellow musicians had composed up to that point.  The album’s predecessors each presented more of a garage/thrash sound.  There is even a hint of a New York hardcore lean to those records’ arrangements added for good measure, the whole giving each album’s sound its own welcome, unique identity.  The increased use of electronics and keyboards throughout Rude Awakening’s 45-minute run time by comparison This should come as no surprise, as the album was co-produced by Charlie Clouser (of Nine Inch Nails fame).  Yet the band’s new sound herein is less similar to that of Nine Inch Nails than to sound that audiences would hear years later from the likes of Spineshank, Static-X and even Dope.  To that end, the album’s musical body makes it easy to say that this record was well ahead of its time, making for even more respect for this record.

Rude Awakening’s musical body is just one part of its appeal and success.  Its overarching lyrical themes of facing life’s tough times, sociopolitical strife and dealing with one’s own mental health struggles make for that much more for audiences to appreciate.  Case in point is the album’s opener, ‘Controller.’  This song is a clear statement about feeling held down and…well…controlled by external forces.  Those forces could be close to one or even at a much higher level.  To that end, one could argue that it is a song that, lyrically speaking, is as relevant today as it was some three decades ago.  On another note is ‘Face Value,’ which comes later in the album’s run.  This straightforward song is its own still relevant work that centers on the frustration felt at how society refuses to look at people beyond how they look.  It urges people to take the time to look deeper at others around us, to get to know people at more than face value.  Again, herein is a timeless theme that further shows the overall strength of Rude Awakening.  It further leads one to question why the album did not receive the respect that it did upon its initial release.  Maybe this will help to give the record new respect that it has so long deserved.

On yet another note, the band even takes on the all-too familiar topic of broken relationships even later in the album in ‘Close The Door.’  The song finds its subject learning to go beyond that broken toxic relationship and set firm boundaries so as to not let another such toxic relationship take control of his or her own life.  Once more, here is a timeless theme (even as annoyingly prominent as it is even today).  When it and the other themes addressed herein are considered alongside themes presented in other songs, such as the negative impacts of general mental health struggles (‘Slicing’), the struggles of overcoming one’s own personal hardships in general (‘Rude Awakening’) and the loss of innocence (‘Innocence Gone’), the whole of the album’s lyrical body offers audiences just as much to appreciate as the record’s musical content.  Keeping that in mind, Rude Awakening really does deserve more respect than it received three decades ago.  It is a record that stood tall among its counterparts at the time and has gone on to prove to be a groundbreaker for the hard rock and metal community.

Rude Awakening is available now.  More information on Rude Awakening is available now along with all of Prong’s latest news at:

Website: https://prongmusic.com
Facebook: https://facebook.com/prongmusic
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