Prong - Songs from the black Hole

(CD Album Review)

****

Timmy Victor and the boys pause for reflection on stop gap release!

Cover albums are funny things. Usually they are crap with the odd gem but even if they are great they only really resort to “Collectors only.” Lets face it if a bands best album is a covers album they are in trouble! However with that being said they don’t hurt anyone and when done properly (like this one) they can be a lot of fun and give a fan of a band a bit of insight into a band and what makes them tick. What’s great about 'Songs from the black Hole' is that you would be forgiven for mistaking some of these songs for Prong! There was more then one time when listening to this that actually forgot that I wasn’t listening to a regular Prong album. Just check out the brilliant 'Kids of the black Hole'.

Where do we start? The album is just as varied as any Prong album you could think of and the wide range of influences the band draws from is well on display here. Opening with an excellent rendition of 'Doomsday' by Discharge, we then have the highlight which is an excellent version of Sisters of Mercy’s 'Vision Thing' the song bounces along brilliantly. What’s great about this release also is Tommy uses his current live line up of Jason Christopher on bass whose on stage persona and playing is a highlight of Prong's current live show and Arturo Cruz is a fantastic drummer. I hope he keeps them for Prong's next studio album. The Bad Brains cover doesn’t quite work but full marks for trying. The album closes with a very interesting take on Neil Young’s 'Cortez the Killer' which has this great melancholy feel.

All in all it’s the same with all cover albums. They are to be enjoyed or ignored and they keep you tied over till the next album. This is one of the better ones and is well worth your time. Prong is on a winning streak at the moment with 'Carved into Stone' and 'Ruining Lives' being just as good as their classic albums. Obviously this isn’t really the best place to start if you are new to the band but if you’re a fan this is well worth picking up.