Beg to Differ
Cover art by Pushead
Studio album by
Prong
ReleasedMarch 12, 1990
Recorded1989
Genre
Length45:24
LabelEpic[2]
ProducerMark Dodson, Prong
Prong chronology
Force Fed
(1989) 		Beg to Differ
(1990) 		Prove You Wrong
(1991)

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]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal6/10[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]

Track listing

No.TitleMusicLength
1."For Dear Life"Tommy Victor3:26
2."Steady Decline"Mike Kirkland, Victor4:13
3."Beg to Differ"Ted Parsons, Victor4:15
4."Lost and Found"Victor4:05
5."Your Fear"Kirkland, Parsons, Victor4:51
6."Take It in Hand"Victor3:43
7."Intermenstrual, D.S.B." (instrumental)Parsons, Victor3:12
8."Right to Nothing"Victor2:57
9."Prime Cut"Parsons, Victor3:49
10."Just the Same"Victor, Kirkland, Parsons4:41
11."Third from the Sun" (live, Chrome cover)Helios Creed, Damon Edge5:56
Total length:40:58

Personnel

Production

References

  1. ^ a b c "Rediscovered Steel Prongs Beg to Differ". NoiseCreep. June 11, 2009.
  2. ^ a b Chris Dick (August 16, 2017). "Beg to Differ Decibel Review". Decibel. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  3. ^ a b c "Prong – 'Beg to Differ' – Metal Digest – The Normless Magazine". metal-digest.com. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
  4. ^ "Every Prong Album Ranked From Worst To Best By Tommy Victor". Kerrang!. November 27, 2019. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Beg to Differ - Prong". AllMusic.
  6. ^ Popoff, Martin (2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. pp. 350–351. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
  7. ^ "Prong Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on July 3, 2007. Retrieved May 17, 2007.


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