Half a decade on from Power Of The Damager, and with thrash in the ascendant, it seems the perfect time for Prong to deliver their 8th studio album, Carved Into Stone.
Mainman Tommy Victor’s approach has changed little over time and this is a brutal, dirty, caustic collection with the accent on face-melting velocity – though often leavened with a knowing touch of melody and more than a few barbed hooks.
Bruising opener Eternal Heat gives a good indication of the delights within and there’s really very little let up in the bug-eyed, vein-bulging fury, most notably the venomous Ammunition and the awesomely swift List Of Grievances.
Slowing things down a tad, the title track is a monumental sludge-athon, while the addictively groovy Revenge…Best Served Cold combines precision sonic violence with an instantly memorable chorus – a not so distant cousin of the classic Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck.
An aural battering never sounded so good.