by David JeffriesAfter the underwhelming misfire that was 2003's Scorpio Rising, main man Tommy Victor got his head on straight, signed to Al Jourgensen's 13th Planet label, and got things back on track for Prong 2.0 with the mighty Power of the Damager. While Scorpio Rising was sludgy and tuneless, Damager does a 180 and gets back to the taut and memorable music that defined the first incarnation of Prong. Finishing off this winning formula are memorable songs with "No Justice," "Pure Ether," and "Worst of It" all featuring that exciting mix of melody, throbbing beat, and razor sharp riffage that made "Snap Your Fingers, Snap Your Neck" an almost hit and a strip club staple. Here, Prong are still too vicious to really have radio dreams and Victor's lyrics are even tougher than before with the occasional vulgarity acting as exclamation point. The disappointing side of Damager is the too tight and too bright production, which tends to ignore this power trio's bass player. Fatten the low end and it's the good old days once again. Damager is an album worthy of the Prong name along with the loyal following that hails it.