PRONG is a band to me that stands out. It, of course, was Cleansing back then that hooked me up. Since then I’m always looking forward to catch them live. The summer festival season comes to an end and PRONG are just about to finish their European summer open air festival stint with one last show at :: Rockpalast :: Bochum. German Thrash Metal veterans DEW-SCENTED are about to finish their 26 years spanning career that has seen the release of 10 full-length, among others. Tonight’s concert is the very last regular show for them, followed by a festival appearance and the grand final on October 6 in the band’s hometown. Afterwards, the book DEW-SCENTED will be closed for good.
Being a huge fan of PRONG and Tommy Victor, a PRONG show is per se a must-attend-event. But I also wanted to pay my last respect to DEW-SCENTED, especially, since I have not seen them playing live for a longer time.
:: pics :: DEW-SCENTED ::
It is a wonderful late summer evening with mild temperatures. No wonder that most of the people rather stood outside the club for chats and beer instead of gathering down in the basement. There have been some modifications in the club again (stage and toilets). Seems, I was not here for a longer time…
Since :: DEW-SCENTED :: played their own equipment there was hardly any space left on the tiny stage to perform. A first look at the band revealed, bass player Joost van der Graaf was missing, who had to sit out these final shows due to a family emergency. So, the band performed without a bass (but was still as heavy as fuck). Also the “original” drummer was not there, was he? However. DEW-SCENTED kicked off at 8 pm and played with full force right from the beginning till the last tone was gone. There have been many fans and friends in the audience but they needed several invitations to come close to the stage. The response remained rather restrained though.
Musically, DEW-SCENTED focused on four records: on Impact (2003) and Issue VI (2005), as well as on the latest releases, Intermination and Icarus. I understand that they could not play every important song during a set of 40 minutes but would have loved to see them playing one song from every album. Well, I think, the grand finale on October 6 will offer an extended playlist ;)
Of course, Leif Jensen several times thanked the crowd for their dedication and loyalty and mentioned that we will meet again the one or the other way. He also thanked Prong and Tommy Victor for being a huge influence back in the days and now sharing the stage with DEW-SCENTED for a last run.
The guys in fact played a highly energetic show but it could not hide the fact that the spirit is gone. It seems to be just consequent to put the band to rest for good. I wish each and every one nothing but the best for the future. See you guys, it was a pleasure!
Setlist: Intro, Sworn To Obey, Turn To Ash, Cities Of The Dead, Never To Return, Ruptured Perpetually, Storm Within, New Found Pain, Thrown To The Lions, Acts Of Rage
:: pics :: PRONG ::
:: PRONG :: are one hell of a busy band. Four albums in four years. The last one, Zero Days, was released in July 2017, and still gets supported live, while Tommy Victor has announced to have already 8 new songs for the follower. In between, the band tours around the globe and plays their asses off. So they did this summer. And just keep in mind that Tommy Victor also played with Danzig. Though, the heavy touring took its toll. Visibly. The guys pretty much looked crinkled. Much more, bassist Jason Christopher has already knocked back the one or the other drink in celebration of the tour final ;) But he did not fell from stage… Again some staff rotation. Instead of Art Cruz, who is currently touring with Lamb Of God, Power Of The Damager drummer Aaron Rossi sat behind the red drums.
The venue was now fully packed and it became hot and sweaty. PRONG had hardly started with For Dear Life, when the crowd went wild, creating the one or the other moshpit. Bruises included. That’s hardcore. No wonder, next to some new material, PRONG played a lot of classics, focusing on Beg To Differ, Prove You Wrong und Cleansing. That made the fans freaking out. Indeed. Tommy and Jason jumped on the stage like bouncy balls. So much energy. And they interacted closely with the fans, which, in fact, liked to receive pleks, but when Tommy wanted them to respond or to sing along they remained quite uncommunicative. Tststs.
PRONG ripped through the songs with full force too. As if they were in a hurry. I don’t know, perhaps there was an early curfew due to a disco afterwards. Remember, it’s Saturday night. Whatever. They played for 100 minutes at least :)
With the last tone of Forced Into Tolerance gone I decided to leave promptly as I had a working day ahead. Jason Christopher was totally wiped out and I’m sure he could not do anything useful right after. No idea if Tommy and Aaron still had enough energy to talk to the fans and to sign stuff.
Despite of shitty lights (from a photographer’s point of view) and a piss-smell from the toilets later in the evening, it was a great concert evening! :)
Setlist: For Dear Life, Beg To Differ, Lost And Found, Unconditional, Prove You Wrong, However It May End, Another Worldly Device, Turnover, Cut And Dry, Broken Peace, Divide And Conquer, Revenge...Best Served Cold, Whose Fist Is This Anyway?, Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck // Rude Awakening, Power Of The Damager // Ultimate Authority, Forced Into Tolerance
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