Prong is an American heavy metal band formed in 1986. Prong had two independent releases, Primitive Origins and Force Fed. The albums attracted the attention of Epic Records, who signed the trio in 1989. The group disbanded in 1997 after the Rude Awakening tour, but re-formed in 2002. A pioneer of the urban metal scene, Prong is fronted by Tommy Victor. Members of bands such as Korn's Jonathan Davis, Demon Hunter's Ryan Clark, and Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor cite Prong as an influence to their musical style.HistoryEarly career (1986–1988)Founded by singer/guitarist Tommy Victor who was a sound man for the famous club CBGB and bassist Mike Kirkland (doorman at CBGB’s). Ex-Swans drummer Ted Parsons joined a few months later. Prong released two independent albums that were noted for their brutal hardcore punk sound. The recordings were released on Southern Records in the U.K. in the late 1980s.Major label signing and mainstream success (1989–1995)Epic Records saw the band's potential and signed them in 1989. Prong's major label debut album, Beg to Differ, was released in 1990.In the following year, Kirkland left the band and was replaced by Ex-Flotsam and Jetsam bassist Troy Gregory. Prong issued their fourth release, Prove You Wrong, which saw the band experiment with programming and electronic samples while still retaining an aggressive yet melodic sensibility.By 1994, Troy Gregory was out of the band and was replaced by Paul Raven and John Bechdel, both from Killing Joke and Murder, Inc. The new line up released Cleansing (Prong’s 5th major release). With a strong industrial sound that still managed to be hard and heavy, Cleansing contained songs that are still considered Prong classics ("Broken Peace" and "Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck") and is Prong’s most successful release to date. The videos for these two songs became staples of MTV’s legendary Headbangers Ball.Demise (1996–2000)Prong's sixth album Rude Awakening was released in 1996. It entered the charts at #74 and sold 10,000 units in America in one week. Epic Records decided Prong were not selling enough records and released them from their contract 3 weeks later. Shortly thereafter, Prong's line-up disbanded prior to a tour supporting Type O Negative, as Victor later joined Danzig as Glenn's guitar player, Raven and Parsons left to join Godflesh.I nterim (2000–2006)In 2000, Victor re-formed Prong with bassist Brian Perry, drummer Dan Laudo and guitarist Monte Pittman (Madonna). In 2002, after a 42-show American tour that was recorded for a live CD (100% Live, Locomotive Music) Prong entered the studio and recorded a new CD titled Scorpio Rising which was received with mixed responses.Victor played on and off again with Glen Danzig from 1998–2005 in between time with Prong. His final goal of playing and writing on a Danzig record was met with Circle of Snakes in 2004.Prong released a live 2-disc DVD in 2005 entitled "The Vault" which features performances from the Hulstsfred and With Full Force festivals and a full show in Amsterdam. This disc has Mike Longworth on bass as well, who later replaced Perry. Dan Laudo left the band in 2005 and the band enlisted Aaron Rossi, who used to be in the bands Strife (Victory Records), Shelter (Century Media Records), John 5 (Shrapnel Records), and Ankla (Bieler Bros. Records)Victor and Raven joined Ministry in 2005 to write and tour in support of their album Rio Grande Blood (2006). They were nominated for a Grammy in 2007 for the song Senior Peligro in the "Best Metal Performance" category. The two also appear on Ministry's follow up album The Last Sucker (2007), although in a more limited capacity.Reformation (2007-present)On June 4, 2007, Prong posted a MySpace bulletin stating that they were recording in El Paso, Texas. The band left Locomotive Music, and were signed to Al Jourgensen's 13th Planet Records, who released their latest album Power of the Damager on October 2, 2007.The band embarked on the "Slicing Across America" and "Slicing Across Europe" tours supporting Power of the Damager in 2007 and early 2008. Joining Tommy Victor in the current live membership of the band is Monte Pittman and drummer Aaron Rossi.Paul Raven died of an apparent heart attack in his sleep on October 20, 2007 at the age of 46. He was recording with French recording artists Treponem Pal on their new album with Ted Parsons at the time of his death.Aaron Rossi will be joining Ministry as their new drummer on the "C U LaTour" which starts in March 2008.In February 2008, Headbanger's Ball premiered the video "Power Of The Damager".According to a March 2009 interview with Ministry's Al Jourgensen, Prong is scheduled to return to the studio to record a new album sometime in 2009 which Jourgensen is slated to produce