American metalcore Christians (which sounds like a movie I’d like to see) The Devil Wears Prada have gone from strength to strength following the release of 2009’s breakthrough album ‘With Roots Above & Branches Below’, and after last year’s concept EP ‘Zombie’, the definitive album for the band has arrived.
New release ‘Dead Throne’, which Adam Dutkiewicz (of Killswitch Engage and Times of Grace fame) has produced, is a fresh album that avoids going over the same old processes that many bands in this genre find hard to avoid. The songs on the album are short, with barely any of them topping 3 minutes, making it a devastating experience that is hard to keep up with at times. It’s awe-inspiring at times, the musicianship at show proving that DWP are a band at the top of their game.
Album opener and title track, ‘Dead Throne’ starts with an ambience, the drums a signal for a march into battle, before the trademark screams of Mike Hranica bring the whole band in, the severe aggression honed to a recognisable sound. This song stands up with some of the best metalcore on the planet, and that’s because DWP are a band that clearly enjoy what they do and are willing to stretch their boundaries to breaking point. The high production values on this album are clear from the word go, shown especially as cymbals build up into the brutal ‘Untidaled’. The combination of thrashing guitars and passionate yet hostile vocals is impressive, but it’s a clean melodic chorus that adds an extra dimension and the doom fuelled outro is a fitting end.
The juddering nu-metal throwback beginning to ‘Mammoth’ brings in a song that really takes no prisoners. Discords and pummelling drums back up the plentiful melodic parts, which are now common place in the most recent releases from this band. ‘Vengeance’ gets the album really going at a cracking pace, the songs now striding ahead with determination. This song is fun, featuring a rare ‘catchy’ hook that shows that DWP are all about branching out to bring their music to the masses. It doesn’t sacrifice the sheer brilliance of their sound, which is shown off at a greater level with ‘R.I.T’ and ‘My Questions’, a pair of songs that channel the well-practised angst-ridden sound that gives substance to what could otherwise be standard metal tracks. Breakdowns have been few so far in this album, so the outro to the latter song is welcome.
The instrumental interlude, ‘Kansas’, gives the listener a break from the aggressive onslaught. The melodic picked guitar sweeps through the song until the rest of the band kick in. It has an edge, making it far from a standard interlude, with progressive percussion and a spine-chilling spoken voiceover. The second act resumes the brutality, with ‘Born To Lose’, a track with guts in abundance. ‘Forever Decay’ shows off DWP as a group of increasingly skilled musicians and their ear for ever changing riffs and pulsating beats. ‘Chicago’ is a song tainted with despair, but despite that, it’s a defiant piece of music. A symbol of resurrection, if you will. The chord patterns are odd at times, but it’s intriguing. The ever-present strain of melody is what ties this song together, as it has for most of the tracks on this album.
‘Constance’ is another hard hitter, and my personal favourite on ‘Dead Throne’. The parts bleed together perfectly, with an odd yet satisfying Middle Eastern sound running trough it (highlighted well on the verses). A storming chorus throws down the gauntlet to any other bands in this genre, showing them exactly how it’s done.
The final two songs, ‘Pretenders’ and ‘Holdfast’, don’t let up, and our legs may be weary as we come into them but we have to run as fast as we can with them, because they don’t allow us to rest. Some big tricks are pulled off in this finale, including insane stop/start guitars, effects galore and raucous energy. Once it’s all over, it’s clear that DWP are a band just getting into their stride, so expect even bigger things from them in the coming years. A huge US tour to promote the album now awaits, which I am sure will be another step towards superstardom for a fantastic band with both a purpose and a message.
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