I have no idea where 15 years has gone, FIFTEEN..!!!...but today apparently marks the 15th anniversary of AONO. Share your stories here of the hype building upto this album launch, and your initial thoughts then and your thoughts on the album today

I personally remember it like it was yesterday...I was closely following all the hype on Nekos (remember that? me either.. ha ha) and when I heard Girls for the first time, it blew my little 15 year old mind!!...I walked down into town from my parents to get to HMV for 9am...I took my CD walkman with me, armed and ready to rock the album on the walk home (about 45 mins or so)...I remember spitfire was like WOW...but then everything soon fizzled out for me...I remember sort of enjoying it, but I also felt underwhelmed. I thought the album sounded just a bit...flat? ...where was all that booming bass and heavy beats?!...I couldn't figure it out at the time, but from reading comments from people much more experienced and smarter than myself across the forums, I soon realised it was the mastering that had seemingly suffocated the album from being able to breathe...I can see the sound Liam was going for, and to an extent, he achieved it, but also managed to lose some of his trademarks in the process...The revised live versions of Spitfire, Hotride and Wake Up Call certainly brought back alot of that missing bite and bark, and sounded much more like I expected from The Prodigy at the time.

That being said, I think this will be seen as the most important Prodigy album of them all when historians look back on the history of the band...Ive said that before and stand by it...It reignited Liams creativity, brought the band back together and subsequently relaunched them to a new audience...Liam corrected all the AONO mistakes with IMD, but I still find it a fun listen these days, just a shame that it could have been that much better had it been released after 3-6 months of live touring behind it to tweak things.

I was 17 when AONO came out. First Ive downloaded Girls and Memphis bells, i liked both tracks, but Girls was instant crush. I used to play that track 50 times a day, used to play it to all my friends, and just couldnt get bored of it. Its like that 15 years later. When album was released I was bit disappointed at start. I was like wtf, this is just lame. But when I played it again, I was blown away (also I hit a blunt). Some of my favourite Prodigy tracks are on this album - Action Radar, Girls, The Way It Is, YWBUMW, Memphis bells, Medusas path.

I still listen to it today, i think its great album, but kinda lofi and experimental when compared to previous albums. I skip only Phoenix.

Oh man... Lots to say about this album, this era, this year.
Fun moments of early internet stuf and the news of a new album right after 7 years was emerged out of nowhere I'd say.


I still remember I was very impressed and of course in love with 'Girls' from the very first time; by that time I was listening to stuff like Felix Da Housecat, Miss Kittin, Fisherspooner, Gigolo Records etc. and you can tell that AONO has a kinda electroclash inspiration. 'Girls' was the first preview, single of this new era along with 'Memphis Bells' and bless I was well informed about all these via the legendary TheProdigy.NL Neko and Theprodigy.info

By that time I knew nothing about the Ping Pong Bitches and then found out about them and their amazing "Alphadog" album.
I took all the eps released on CD copies, still owing a copy of Spitfire (https://www.discogs.com/The-Prodigy-Spi ... ase/448282) and in full love with all artworks of this era. The AONO artwork in my opinion is the best one yet.

All in all, the album came out in a very crucial period for the band as we all know about it.

And then we got these incredible news, first Prodigy gig in 2 years happening in Athens!!! boom!
First time they presented fresh AONO stuff live, plus also 'Warning' which made all crew losing their mind!
What a top night that was, by all means!


Guys I humbly think (speaking to this forum crew and to us who are prodigy maniacs) that we can't say that a release is bad or whatever.
Each one of what this band has been offering is always unique and if it's not about music, it's a part of the history for some reason. And I mean their own history and legacy.



So, definetely AONO has its own beauty and value! Let's play it loud again!

I basically got into The Prodigy because of AONO. I discovered it the summer after its release. At that time my musical interests were more limited than they are now, and I'd listen mostly to what a lot of people might consider to be bland four to the floor techno. Until one of my friends put that album blasting in his basement while we were playing Starcraft. The loud and proud broken beats, the rock anger-fueled energy with a tribal feeling melody of Spitfire. The uptempo futuristic electro beats, the raw and gritty synth combined with the feminine sexiness of the vocalists in Girls. And I was hooked.

The album sure has its flaws, a lot of the tracks needed more work. But for how eye-opening it was to me then, this album will always have a special place in my heart.

A little action is all I need.