Prong is back with their first record in four years. Their latest effort, Power of the Damager, is a hard hitting but still raw record that recalls the band's earliest efforts. Guitarist and vocalist Tommy Victor takes some time to talk to Gearwire about his gear over the years. Victor says he has been writing songs for the new Prong both before and after his recent work with Ministry.

"It is something I wanted to do for awhile. I felt energized to do another record," he says.

When it comes to talking about the gear he uses, Victor mentions a reason for gear changes that will be familiar to anyone who has ever hit the road.

"Originally had a Marshall Plexi - a lot of gear changes have come from theft - that (the Plexi) got ripped off," says Victor.

Later, he used a Marshall 9000 but wasn't happy with it. He fell in love with the Marshall 8100, but for different projects, different gear. Victor has been using a transistor (as opposed to tube) head - a Crate (V series) with Krank Revolution cabinets.

"I have used that a lot live and on records. It holds the low end and does not have that rattly tube sound." says Victor.

And the Krank cabinets have another useful quality - especially for someone who is on the road often. They are durable.

"They don't need road cases. They have really nice grills on them," says Victor.

Solid state heads also allow for a little more peace of mind.

"Tubes change, moisture in rooms, they get banged around," says Victor. "'Is the tube dying?' I don't get stressed out about it now."

When it comes to the advance of technology Victor is appreciative of how much easier it has made demo-ing songs (for one thing).

"Years ago, demos (were) on a 4 track cassette player. When that came out, it was revolutionary. Before that, I don't remember. We would record on a boom box." he says. "Now with the PC it is much easier. Digital technology made it easier. I tend to not cut and paste a lot, but it has made it easier."

But when it comes to effects, Victor is still all about stomp boxes.

"I can't deal with the whole rack mountable thing," he says. "The MIDI stuff was a nightmare with kids jumping on stage and pulling cables out."

Victor uses an ISP Decimation pedal for noise reduction and is very pleased with the result. He says it is similar to the Rocktron noise reduction he used to use. And for Prong, a noise reduction pedal is must - a necessity according to Victor. He also uses a Dunlop Q95 Wah. When you hit the Dunlop, it is on. It is a very reliable pedal.

Victor's guitar is a Schecter S-1, and he is enthusiastic about the instrument.

"I had to get an endorsement because I couldn't buy a series of guitars. After experimenting with several companies, (I) settled on the S-1," he says. "I used to use an SG. This one has a shorter scale. It has a Gibson feel and is very lightweight. On stage, I don't want anything too weighty."

He says the SG also had a heavy neck which is not the case with the Schecter.

Gearwire noted that on their upcoming tour, there were a lot of dates outside the big cities (although by no means even a majority of them). Victor is more than fine with this.

"The venues that have Prong - metal, punk, seems like it has gone out into the burbs a bit. The tour set up before the record was recorded," says Victor. "Places like Boise are always fun places to go to. There is always some commotion in that town."

Prong is on tour across the USA and Canada through the end of November.