Cleansing (album)

Cleansing is the fourth album by the American heavy metal band Prong, released on January 25, 1994 by Epic Records. It was produced by Terry Date, whereas all of Prong's previous albums had been produced by Mark Dodson. The album features ex-Killing Joke members Paul Raven on bass guitar and John Bechdel on keyboards and programming. Featuring an industrial-influenced sound, the record received moderate commercial success.[1]

For the 2007 album by Suicide Silence, see The Cleansing (album).
Cleansing
Studio album by
Prong
ReleasedJanuary 25, 1994
Recorded1993
Genre
Length58:02
LabelEpic
Producer
Prong chronology
Whose Fist Is This Anyway?
(1992)		 Cleansing
(1994)		 Rude Awakening
(1996)
Singles from Prong
  1. "Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck"
    Released: 1994
  2. "Broken Peace"
    Released: 1994

The single "Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck" received a commercial interest;[2] its music video received heavy rotation on MTV and was featured on an episode of Beavis and Butt-Head.[3] As a part of the album's promotion, the band opened for Sepultura and Pantera as an opener for their Chaos A.D. and Far Beyond Driven tours, respectively.[4]

The record was reissued by SPV/Steamhammer in 2008.[5]

Background and style

Prong's vocalist and guitarist Tommy Victor has stated that the record was largely written in the bathroom of his Williamsburg apartment on an acoustic guitar at night.[3] Despite the label's opposition, the band chose Terry Date as the producer, recording the tracks at Bad Animals and Magic Shop recording studios. The album was mixed at Electric Lady Studios.[3]

Compared to band's New York hardcore-infused 80s work, Cleansing incorporates Pantera-influenced guitar grooves and industrial metal sounds;[6] the album's style was also described as alternative metal[7] and industrial rock.[8] According to Victor, the band "really went in the direction of anything that wasn’t thrash metal, because we were sick of the whole thing," with The Sisters of Mercy's 1990 album Vision Thing being an influence on the record.[9]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
Record Collector[7]

AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine described the record as "the band's most varied and best record yet," remarking that the record "tightens up their trademark drilling guitars while adding some slight techno and industrial touches." Erlewine alo noted that the new elements "heightens the tension" but also "strengthens their already muscular metallic roar."[10] Record Collector's Joel McIver described the record as "a respectable seller rather than a monster" and wrote: "although the album sounds great to this day, all slablike, noisegated riffs and pulsating beats, it wasn’t to be." McIver also compared the staccato guitar sound to the more commercial works of Fear Factory.[7]

Jason Roche of The Village Voice included Cleansing on his list of Top 20 New York Hardcore and Metals Albums, saying that it "proved to be as catchy as it was heavy".[6] Tommy Victor has ranked the record second as the second best Prong album.[3]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Prong.

No.TitleLength
1."Another Worldly Device"3:23
2."Whose Fist Is This Anyway?"4:42
3."Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck"4:11
4."Cut-Rate"4:52
5."Broken Peace"6:11
6."One Outnumbered"4:58
7."Out of This Misery"4:25
8."No Question"4:17
9."Not of This Earth"6:25
10."Home Rule"3:57
11."Sublime"3:53
12."Test"6:40
Total length:58:02

Personnel

Album credits as adapted from liner notes.[11]

Prong
Technical credits

Chart positions
Chart (1994) Peak
position
Billboard 200[12] 126

Cover versions

"Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck" has been covered by several artists:

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References
  1. Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Prong biography". AllMusic. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  2. Heaney, Gregory. "Prong - Playlist: The Very Best of Prong". AllMusic. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  3. Krovatin, Chris (November 27, 2019). "Every Prong Album Ranked From Worst to Best by Tommy Victor". Kerrang!. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  4. Pirtle, Dave (March 22, 2014). "Whose Fist Is This Anyway? – 20 Years of Prong's Cleansing". Last Rites. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  5. "SPV/Steamhammer Reissues Metal Church, Suicidal Tendencies, Prong, Bonham Titles in Europe". Blabbermouth.net. November 12, 2008. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  6. Roche, Jason (July 8, 2013). "The Top 20 New York Hardcore and Metal Albums of All Time". The Village Voice. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
  7. McIver, Joel (September 2008). "Cleansing". Record Collector. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  8. Ayers, Chris (February 5, 2016). "Prong: X – No Absolutes". Exclaim!. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
  9. Nunnally, Doug (April 1, 2015). "Interview: Prong Frontman Tommy Victor Walks Us Through The New Album". New Noise Magazine. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
  10. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Cleansing - Prong". AllMusic. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  11. Cleansing (CD liner notes). Prong. Epic Records. 1994.CS1 maint: others (link)
  12. "Prong". Billboard. Retrieved June 5, 2016.
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