Epic
1992
Remix EP’s seemed de rigeur for ’90s industrial metal bands, with varying results from Godflesh, Fear Factory, Nine Inch Nails, White Zombie, and Pitchshifter. Prong’s Whose Fist Is This Anyway, scavenging 1991’s Prove You Wrong, is hardly essential, but it lays bare what made that album great – hollowness.
I’ve maintained that PYW was the sound of Joy Division gone metal, and this EP corroborates that. The remixes (two by Jim “Foetus” Thirlwell and three by Paul Raven and Lee Popa) aren’t drastic (though the “Xanax Mix” of “Prove You Wrong” pushes it to 12″ length), scaling back the guitars and adding FX here and there.
But the “Dub Mix” of “Hell if I Could” lives up to its name, with a delayed-out, extended drums and bass intro, bridging Kingston and NYC. As Ice-T says on the back cover, “Prong – as dope as it gets.”
That’s odd – I’ve been really into those old Prong records lately for some reason, and it’s rare that I come across anything about them anymore. I hadn’t heard this “Dub Mix” before, but I’m glad it preserves Ted Parson’s bizarre gated snare from Prove You Wrong. They had such a unique sound – how many metal trios these days sound remotely like them?
Heh – I liked this EP… their original songs seem to lend themselves well to remixing.
“Cleansing” was my absolute favorite record at the ime of it’s release and none of my chums at the time could understand why. So unique..still today.
Yeah, “Cleansing”! One could see this remix EP as the bridge between “Prove You Wrong” and “Cleansing” – stripping down the arrangements in favor of the rhythm section.