Beg to Differ | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | March 12, 1990 | |||
Recorded | 1989 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 45:24 | |||
Label | Epic [2] | |||
Producer | Mark Dodson, Prong | |||
Prong chronology | ||||
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Beg to Differ is the second studio album by American heavy metal band Prong, released in 1990 through Epic Records. The album includes one live track ("Third from the Sun", a Chrome cover) recorded at CBGB's in New York City in 1989. Brian "Pushead" Schroeder did the design and cover artwork for the album. Part of the song "Lost and Found" was used for commercial breaks of MTV's Headbangers Ball in the early 1990s.
Beg to Differ was the start of Prong's change in music direction, showcasing an experimentation with thrash and speed arrangements and hardcore influences inspired by the likes of Bad Brains and Suicidal Tendencies. [1] [2] [3] The album also stands as one of the earliest examples of the then-emerging subgenre of groove metal, predating Pantera's Cowboys from Hell by four months; [1] [3] this fact was later acknowledged by Prong vocalist and guitarist Tommy Victor, who claimed, "[Beg to Differ] was the first groove metal record. It gets overlooked, but I don't know who came out with anything before that." [4]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [5] |
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 6/10 [6] |
Rolling Stone | [7] |
Beg to Differ has received mostly positive reviews. Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic wrote, "Prong's once diffuse, post-hardcore rumble solidifies into a tightly disciplined thrash metal attack on their first major label release, Beg to Differ. Also a more democratic affair than later efforts, the album finds guitarist Tommy Victor and bassist Mike Kirkland alternating lead vocals as well as writing credits. And drummer Ted Parsons is equally impressive, providing a thunderous rhythmic foundation of Neil Peart-like diversity and precision." [5]
Adam McCann of Metal Digest referred to Beg to Differ as "the superb 1990 album", and wrote, "When it comes to heavy metal, Prong may just be one of the most underrated and overlooked bands ever. With Beg to Differ, Prong delivered riff after riff of not only thrash metal, but thrash with the uptempo pumping riffage of crossover thrash whilst also deliver the meat and potatoes offered from the then burgeoning groove metal scene with both Exhorder and Prong laying the foundations for what would come very, very soon with Pantera". [3]
No. | Title | Music | Length |
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1. | "For Dear Life" | Tommy Victor | 3:26 |
2. | "Steady Decline" | Mike Kirkland, Victor | 4:13 |
3. | "Beg to Differ" | Ted Parsons, Victor | 4:15 |
4. | "Lost and Found" | Victor | 4:05 |
5. | "Your Fear" | Kirkland, Parsons, Victor | 4:51 |
6. | "Take It in Hand" | Victor | 3:43 |
7. | "Intermenstrual, D.S.B." (instrumental) | Parsons, Victor | 3:12 |
8. | "Right to Nothing" | Victor | 2:57 |
9. | "Prime Cut" | Parsons, Victor | 3:49 |
10. | "Just the Same" | Victor, Kirkland, Parsons | 4:41 |
11. | "Third from the Sun" (live, Chrome cover) | Helios Creed, Damon Edge | 5:56 |
Total length: | 40:58 |
Thrash metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo. The songs usually use fast percussive beats and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead guitar work.
Pantera is an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas, formed in 1981 by the Abbott brothers, and currently composed of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, and touring musicians Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante. The group's best-known lineup consisted of the Abbott brothers along with Brown and Anselmo, who joined in 1982 and 1986, respectively. The band is credited for developing and popularizing the subgenre of groove metal in the 1990s. Regarded as one of the most successful and influential bands in heavy metal history, Pantera has sold around 20 million records worldwide and has received four Grammy nominations.
Cowboys from Hell is the fifth studio album and major label debut by American heavy metal band Pantera, released on July 24, 1990, by Atco Records. It marked the first of many collaborations with producer Terry Date. This was also the album where Pantera fully abandoned the glam metal style of their previous albums in favor of a heavier sound. It has been recognized as one of the first ever groove metal albums.
Prong is an American heavy metal band formed in New York City in 1986. The band is fronted by guitarist/vocalist Tommy Victor, Prong's sole constant member. To date, they have released 13 studio albums, one live album, four EPs, one DVD and one remix album.
Force Fed is the debut album by the American band Prong. The album was recorded in 1987 and originally released in 1988. Drummer Ted Parsons co-wrote some of the songs for the first time.
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Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual transgression".
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Groove metal, sometimes also called neo-thrash or post-thrash, is a subgenre of heavy metal music that began in the early 1990s. The genre is primarily derived from thrash metal, but played in slower tempos, and making use of rhythmic guitar parts. It was pioneered in the late 1980s by groups like Exhorder, Prong and the Bad Brains then popularized by the commercial success of Pantera, White Zombie, Machine Head and Sepultura. The genre went on to be influential in the development of the New wave of American heavy metal, nu metal and metalcore, and continued to gain traction in the 2000s with Lamb of God, DevilDriver and Five Finger Death Punch, and 2010s with Killer Be Killed and Bad Wolves.
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Prong is an American heavy metal band formed in 1986. The band was originally composed of founder Tommy Victor, along with Mike Kirkland (bass) and ex-Swans drummer Ted Parsons. Their first two studio releases, the EP Primitive Origins (1987) and debut studio album Force Fed (1989), were released independently and directed more towards the hardcore punk. The trio signed with Epic Records, and their first major label release, 1990's Beg to Differ, was a minor success, and received regular exposure on MTV's Headbangers Ball. Former Flotsam and Jetsam bassist Troy Gregory replaced Kirkland for 1991's Prove You Wrong. Gregory was soon replaced by ex-Killing Joke bassist Paul Raven, plus keyboardist John Bechdel for 1994's Cleansing. The album marked a change of direction towards a more industrial sound, being regarded as Prong's "most varied record". Prong would disband following 1996's "less inspired" Rude Awakening.
The new wave of American heavy metal was a heavy metal music movement that originated in the United States during the early–mid 1990s and expanded most in the early to mid-2000s. Some of the bands considered part of the movement had formed as early as the late 1980s, but did not become influential or reach popular standing until the following decade. The term itself borrows from the new wave of British heavy metal dating to 1979. NWOAHM includes a wide variety of styles, including alternative metal, groove metal, industrial metal, nu metal and metalcore. The term was reportedly coined by Mark Hunter, vocalist of the American metalcore band Chimaira, in 2001.
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