Band: The Devil Wears Prada
Title: Plagues
Label: Rise Records
Review By: JoshIVM
Tracklisting:
01. Goats On A Boat
02. Number Three, Never Forget
03. HTML Rulez Dood
04. Hey John, What’s Your Name Again?
05. Don’t Oink And Dance
06. You Can’t Spell Crap Without “C”
07. This Song Is Called
08. Reptar, King Of The Ozone
09. The Scorpion Deathlock
10. Nickels Is Money Too
Members/Duties:
Mike Hranica: Vocals
Chris Rubey: Guitar
Jeremy DePoyster: Guitar/Vocals
James Baney: Keys
Daniel Williams: Drums
Andy Trick: Bass
The Devil Wears Prada showed up on the metalcore scene with their debut “Dear Love: A Beautiful Discord” in 2006. The band quickly garnered lots of attention and ended up selling an impressive amount of the disc. My opinions on “Dear Love” were mixed. I thought the band had a ridiculous amount of potential but I was never able to fully enjoy that release. I think it’s because they were all over the place. Too many random departures during each song. The one thing I hoped for with their sophmore effort was more of a streamlined sound.
The first thing I did notice with “Plagues” was the production improved. They sound much better with a fuller sound! It highlights the best parts of the band. It seems the band also worked to focus each track into more of a coherent sound. The band have improved their songwriting skills and it shows. It’s quite impressive seeing as the 2 releases on Rise are just about a year apart. I don’t really hear any weak points instrumentally on the disc either. All that time on the road has paid off. They sound much tighter as a whole and from what I’ve heard their live shows are quite good as well.
They waste no time diving right in on the disc. No fancy intros or movie clips here. “Goats On A Boat” starts off with a Norma Jean-esque high low guitar pattern. Thankfully it doesn’t last too long and drops into a gallop with some decent guitar riffs. Let’s not forget the bass drops for emphasis. This song has it all; breakdowns, metal riffs, high vocals, deep vocals, death sounding keys, a huge harmonious chorus, fast parts, slow parts, etc. This is what TDWP excels at and is the highlight of the album! The vocal teaming of Hranica and DePoyster really is a sound to behold! Quite the contrast, yet perfectly blended. Hranica’s vocals are a joy to me because he can do the high and lows. I get sick of bands that can only stay in one of those ranges. Tracks like “Reptar, King Of The Ozone” and “Don’t Dink And Drance” break out of the gate and pummel you for awhile and have some of the best breakdowns of the disc. Other tracks have a more melodious feel like “You Can’t Spell Crap Without ‘C'” and “This Song Is Called”. Don’t let that make you think they don’t maintain intensity, because you’d be greatly mistaken. The one weakness I would bring up is that there are definitely similarities between the tracks but if you’re used to metalcore that’s not going to bother you much.
Overall Rating: “Plagues'” is certainly not ground-breaking but they weave a wide range of sounds into their own monster. The band has released an awesome sophmore album which will certainly not result in a slump! Look for the band to really grow their fanbase this year! (9/10)
Standout Tracks: “Hey John, What’s Your Name Again?”, “Don’t Dink And Drance”
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Buy: Rise Records Store
