Prove You Wrong

Album: Prove You Wrong (1991)
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Songfacts®:

  • Written by frontman Tommy Victor, this song is the title track of Prong's third album. It was early in their career, but the band had already heard from the naysayers, and Victor was lashing out against them in this song.

    "We've had a lot of criticism," Victor said in our 2014 interview. People were constantly either hating us or scratching their heads about us. To come out with a record, the title track 'Prove You Wrong' is "we're here to stay and that's it."
  • Tommy Victor describes this song as an "in-your-face rebel-rock tune." The song questions traditional structure and establishment, especially within the music industry. "Anybody that picks up the guitar can relate to that," he told us. "Everyone's been telling you that you're wasting your time and you're never going to get anywhere. Follow these rules. When basically there are no rules when it comes to making music. That's really what that song is about."
  • Prong is often classified as a thrash metal band, but this song has a sound that defies that rubric. Tommy Victor says that musically, it was inspired by the Led Zeppelin song "Celebration Day," and also by the Oi! movement, which was a kind of anthemic punk sound.

    Since the song (and the band) didn't fit nicely into a specific genre, it was tough for Epic Records to market them, but Prong found their niche and gained a following that kept them active through the '10s. This song got a big boost from the video, which garnered airplay on the MTV metal show Headbanger's Ball.

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