''Beg to Differ'' is the second studio album by American heavy metal band

Prong Prong or Prongs may refer to: * Prong, synonym of tine (structural), a branch or spike of various tools and natural objects * Prong (band), an American metal band * Prong (company), an iPhone accessories company in New York City * Prongs, British ...

, released in 1990 through

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

. The album includes one live track ("Third from the Sun", a Chrome cover) recorded at

CBGB's CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...

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 MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's ''

Headbangers Ball ''Headbangers Ball'' is a music television program that consisted of heavy metal music videos airing on MTV and its global affiliates. The show began on MTV on April 18, 1987, playing heavy metal music videos from both well-known and more obs ...

'' in the early 1990s. ''Beg to Differ'' was the start of Prong's change in music direction, showcasing an experimentation with

thrash Thrash may refer to: *Thrashing (computer science), where increasing resources are used to do a decreasing amount of work *Thrash (surname) *Thrash, mascot of the Atlanta Thrashers *''Thrash Rally'', a top-down perspective rally racing video game ...

and

speed In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a scalar quanti ...

arrangements and

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

influences inspired by the likes of

Bad Brains Bad Brains are an American rock band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1976. Originally a jazz fusion band under the name Mind Power, they are widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to the use of this ...

and

Suicidal Tendencies Suicidal Tendencies is an American crossover thrash band formed in 1980 in Venice in Los Angeles, California by vocalist Mike Muir. Muir is the only remaining original member of the band. Along with D.R.I., Corrosion of Conformity, and Stormtr ...

. The album also stands as one of the earliest examples of the then-emerging subgenre of

groove metal Groove metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that began in the early 1990s. The genre achieved success in the 1990s and continued having success in the 2000s. Inspired by thrash metal and traditional heavy metal, groove metal features raspy ...

, predating

Pantera Pantera () is an American heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas formed in 1981, and currently comprised of vocalist Phil Anselmo, bassist Rex Brown, and touring musicians Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante. The group's best-kn ...

's ''

Cowboys from Hell ''Cowboys from Hell'' is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Pantera, released on July 24, 1990 by Atco Records. It marked the band's major label debut and their first collaboration with producer Terry Date. This was also the al ...

'' by four months; this fact was later acknowledged by Prong vocalist and guitarist

Tommy Victor Thomas M. Victor (born 1961/1962) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer. He is best known as the lead singer and guitarist for heavy metal band Prong, which he founded in New York City in 1986, as well as the guitarist for ...

, 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."

Reception

''Beg to Differ'' has received mostly positive reviews. Eduardo Rivadavia of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

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 Neil Ellwood Peart OC (; September 12, 1952 – January 7, 2020) was a Canadian-American musician, best known as the drummer and primary lyricist of the rock band Rush. Peart earned numerous awards for his musical performances, including an ...

-like diversity and precision." 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 Exhorder is an American heavy metal band from New Orleans, Louisiana. They are considered progenitors of the groove-oriented thrash sound later made famous by bands such as Pantera, Lamb of God, White Zombie and Machine Head, and their music ...

and Prong laying the foundations for what would come very, very soon with

Track listing

Personnel

– vocals, guitar *Mike Kirkland – bass *

Ted Parsons Ted Parsons is an American drummer most notable for his membership in bands such as Swans, Prong, Godflesh, Killing Joke, and Jesu. Biography Parsons' early career began in 1985 with Swans, when he contributed to their ''Holy Money'' album. ...

– drums

Production

*Produced by Prong (Mike Kirkland, Ted Parsons, Tommy Victor), Mark Dodson *Executive producer: Bob Feineigle *Engineers: Mark Dodson, Steve McAllister *Assistant engineer: Jamie Locke *Mixing: Mark Dodson *Mastering: Greg Calbi, Roger Lomas

References

Prong (band) albums 1990 albums Albums with cover art by Pushead Albums produced by Mark Dodson Epic Records albums {{1990s-thrash-metal-album-stub