Prong
Zero Days

Prong’s career is certainly stretching back much further than Zero Days, it actually goes all the way back to the eighties. But the trio’s new album is according to the press sheet anything but a tired old band’s twelfth album, it is described as a monster of an album with no fillers and no lacklustre moments. One thing that can be concluded before moving on to the music is that the band has been rather diligent lately with an album each year since 2014 and that the cover art for this album is quite uninteresting looking. So the question is if we can judge it by its cover or not.

47 minutes of playing time on thirteen tracks, the CD has a bonus track that you will not find on the vinyl. And I think that the variation over these tracks is fairly good, perhaps not the most impressive but they mix metallic and energetic stuff remnant of the likes of Pantera with modern pop music influences, catchy and melodic with crushing riffs and strong choruses. Stylewise there aren’t really any surprises but the production is strong and solid, the vocalist is not the most impressive I have heard but works fine for this kind of music. Prong doesn’t really stand out that much in terms of style but they have put together a solid production for this album.

I think this album has taken a relatively commercial approach, taking the route of being easily accessible and easy to like – which means that it is also quite easy to forget. The songs are all quite good but I wouldn’t call any of them a massive super hit, and the thing the say that the album lacks lacklustre moments and filler feels a bit like a label trying to sell their band as something more than they really are. This album kind of sounds like a twelfth album, a bit lacklustre, it is well made and good but nothing that will take you by storm.

Divide and Conquer is a good track for a single, it is catchy and very good – it will probably go down well with those listening to playlists made up of various artists. But that is really the only ear catcher on this album, and it is a good one. The album itself is rather good and relatively enjoyable but perhaps not the most memorable album I have heard in my life. In the end I think that Zero Days from Prong deserves more than zero plays but it doesn’t really stand out that much.

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