SLAP IN THE FAITH
FAITH NO MORE
PRONG
LONDON HAMMERSMITH ODEON
Dete Fadele
ALL THE usual Heavy Metal excess is absent from Prong.
Mindless guitar solos, spandex suits, debauchery, operatic vocals all mean nothing to them. Instead, you get a brutal, clipped assault not dissimilar to two months in a sensory deprivation tank. And to think that six months ago these New York giants were still experimenting on the outer edges of the hardcore scene (notably with a cover of Chrome's Third From The Sun"). A major label den! has changed all that, so yes, they've moved on to Metal, but quite unlike what you're used to hearing.
The weirdly mixed audience notices the difference, so they're Initially reluctant. The pop kids, the denim-clad beer monsters. the strikingly attired women are all used to something less imposing.
Prong are one mean killing machine. Truncated riffs frame each song like arches, over which a deathly howl sails, yet seems so doomy and gothic you're almost tempted to laugh.
"Lost And Found shows how far Prong have sunk into the pit o! darkness. The pace is almost military but the disembodied word occasionally floating through are almost as depressing as cot-death. These guys are resolutely political, they fight injustice at every turn. But it doesn't mean they don't know how to party.
While the drummer forges links with the past by throwing out some slow-as-slugs Swans-type patterns it strikes me that partying with Prong would involve the unspeakable.
A party with Faith No More, however, would be the aura! equivalent of a damp squib. They're just so serious, studied and arc-light. It brought new meaning to the term "bloated and, believe me. it wasn't a pretty sight.
Now, don't get me wrong. I know Faith No More's importance in the scheme of things. Their Metal/rap/funk/ballads hybrids, while not entirely original, are a benchmark for changes in the world of Metal at present. Away from homo-erotic yet homophobe, non-political racist stances to a kind of universalism- concerned and on the case, right-on Metal. But they'll have to put on better shows than this limp dicked stuff and cut out the grotesque excess. I'd say sack the singer, but they already did that once, and besides, this particular neanderthal has a very radio-friendly voice. Oh, and they should make better records as well - The Real Thing is mediocrity personified.
So maybe we can get onto the redeeming features. "From Out Of Nowhere' is pure cheesy pop dressed up as Metal, something to lick your lips at. 'Epic' is excellent rap-metal that should've been an even bigger hit than it was. It seems a pattern is emerging: It seems Faith No More are a singles band, disposable and to be used up and worn out at will. Nothing wrong with this except we shouldn't have to deal with the product of inflated egos trying to go the distance; they should do eight-minute sets.
I'd be lying if I said the crowd didn't lap up the bullshit. They were positively foaming at the gills, reminding one of the old adage: eat shit, a million files can't be wrong. Faith No More are overpaid, over-ambitious and over here, maybe it's time to take that trip to
San Francisco you always wanted. At least they won't be there:
