History Music / TheProdigy

The group's landmark success finally came with ''Music/TheFatOfTheLand'' in 1997. By this point, Howlett had managed to upgrade his equipment, making the beats heavier and giving the album an overall intense, creepy atmosphere. He also took the rock inclinations shown on ''Jilted'' one step further and openly aimed his music at the AlternativeRock audience, bringing Jim Davies from the industrial rock band Pitchshifter to add [[EpicRiff awesome guitar riffs]] all over the place, sampling from more rock songs, letting Keith and Maxim add more shouted vocals, and including a straight CoverVersion of "Fuel My Fire" by [=L7=]. Howlett also put in more outside contributions, bringing in [[Music/{{Soundgarden}} Matt Cameron]], Music/KoolKeith, and others.

* Keith Flint - Vocalist known for his horned hairstyle and generally scary appearance.
* Maxim Reality (real name Keith Andrew Palmer, confusingly) - Vocalist/MC.

His gambit worked, as ''Fat'' became a massive success in the UK and the US (where it went to #1), spawned several hit singles with NightmareFuel-laden videos (for "Smack My Bitch Up", "Breathe", and "Firestarter"), and brought them [[GatewaySeries an audience of rock fans that otherwise didn't really pay attention to electronic music]].

There was also controversy involved over the video for "Smack My Bitch Up" (which featured more nudity then any other video up to that point, as well as scenes of violence, drug use, and drunk driving), to the point that MTV refused to air it before midnight. But this turned out to be a case of NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity, as the video still won a VMA.

On March 4, 2019, Keith Flint was found dead in his home in Essex. Liam Howlett had the unfortunate task of informing fans that the death was ruled a suicide, leading to an outpouring of grief and sympathy and bringing mental health issues, especially those of men, back into the spotlight. Despite Flint's passing, Howlett has vowed to continue the band, informing fans he was back in the studio working on new music in August the same year.

Having enjoyed their time in the spotlight, The Prodigy laid low for a few years; Howlett put out the mix album ''The Dirtchamber Sessions Vol. 1'', Leeroy Thornhill left in 2000, and the group also parted ways with their live guitarist Gizz Butt, but nothing much was heard from their camp for a while. Their next single "Baby's Got a Temper" was released in 2002 to critical disappointment, but warm fan reception.

They finally returned with their next album ''Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned'' in 2004, which was greeted with general disappointment as well. After another four-year pause, the group put out their fifth album ''Invaders Must Die'' in 2009, which was noticeably better received than ''Outnumbered''. Their sixth album ''The Day Is My Enemy'' followed six years later in 2015, and their seventh ''No Tourists'' was released in 2018.

On March 4, 2019, Keith Flint was found dead in his home in Essex. Liam Howlett had the unfortunate task of informing fans that it was ruled a suicide leading to an outpouring of grief and sympathy and bringing mental health issues, especially those of men, back into the spotlight. Despite Flint's passing, Howlett has vowed to continue the band, informing fans he was back in the studio working on new music in August the same year.

[[caption-width-right:350:Liam Howlett, Keith Flint, Leeroy Thornhill and Maxim Reality]]

* IconicLogo: The [[https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0035/2990/0150/products/57_799f031a-b72c-4322-a8be-b4d2f387bfd2_1200x1200.jpg?v=1571709963 "angry ant"]] that appears right beside their name in a few of their cover arts. According to Liam, it was chosen because ants are small but powerful animals, and that's how he sees his band.

** ''Invaders Must Die'' is somewhat of a return to form to the band's pre-''Outgunned'' style, though it keeps that album's abrasiveness while also introducing cleaner production.

* NewSoundAlbum: ''Music/MusicForTheJiltedGeneration'', arguably ''The Fat of the Land'' and ''Invaders Must Die''.

* NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly: To the part they created [[TropeMaker a whole new genre]] known as big beat, with Music/TheChemicalBrothers, The Crystal Method, and Music/FatboySlim.

* {{Sampling}}: From varied sources given the band's [[NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly unusual mixture of genres]], including Music/JohnBarry's score for ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun''.

* Keith Flint - Vocalist known for his HornedHairdo and generally scary appearance.

* HornedHairdo: Keith Flint.

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: Most of their songs are in the 4 to 6 range, but they have done softer ("Beyond the Deathray", "Out of Space") and harder ("Pandemonium", "Fuel My Fire") stuff. ''Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned'' is mostly 7-9, as are some songs from ''The Day Is My Enemy''.

* UglyCute: Keith. Underneath the wild hair and makeup, he had very pretty features.

* {{Mondegreen}}:
** "Change my picture, snap my picture".
** "Super girls like free", "Make me buy a shirt!"

* {{Mondegreen}}: Many people mishear "Smack My Bitch Up" as "Snap My Picture"