The Devil Wears Prada: True Colours
Metalcore bands don’t tend to be known for their longevity. Most bands of the ‘Risecore’ boom of the early 2000s either ended up switching lanes into pop-rock (or butt-rock) or ended up burning out after a few albums. Thankfully, THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA aren’t ‘most bands’.
When we jump onto a Zoom call with frontman Mike Hranica, we find him on a day off midway through a North American tour in which the band have been playing their two Zombie EPs back-to-back. These records happen to be two of the heaviest they’ve ever produced. “It’s taxing as you can hear in my voice right now,” explains the slightly raspy, yet cheerful vocalist. “We play an hour and a half, 21 songs a night. It’s certainly taxing but it’s been a blast.”
Album number eight is Color Decay, 12 tracks of ferocious metalcore incorporating elements of emo, sludge, and even post-rock. The record represents the next step in the band’s evolution from competent breakdown-driven rockers to the thoughtful songwriters of innovative heavy music they are today. Hranica attributes part of this maturation to the new blood in the group, especially when it comes to the writing process.
“It’s just the sort of fluidity to our songwriting that we’ve established,” the vocalist explains coolly. “I just think that everything is in a really positive workflow as far as everyone responding to their roles. In previous configurations of the band, it was too many cooks in the kitchen.”
Aside from dropping keys player James Baney in 2012, the Ohio outfit have avoided constant member changes. But over the past few years, the band’s lineup has shifted with their musical style, with Hranica and singer/rhythm guitarist Jeremy DePoyster being the sole remaining founders.
“I always laugh about how people were like, super-glued on to that fact early on in our career,” Hranica says affably. “Everyone’s like, how do you keep the same members? And then, later on, it’s like, oh. It’s only you and Jeremy! People change and change can be good or terrible. People grow and people have different priorities in their life.”
The world’s introduction to Color Decay was Sacrifice: a thunderous onslaught of melodious heavy rock. The track is vintage THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA – dark, gloomy, and yet totally thrilling. After the softer but moodier album The Act, this single was a statement of intent. The band wasn’t giving up their stadium-filling melodies of the 2019 album but the speed and brutality of Dead Throne was coming along for the ride.
“It exemplifies what THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA is,” explains Hranica. “Over the course of our career, some songs have been ruined by having choruses that could have been so much better but Sacrifice has a great chorus. It’s good to lead off with a song that’s not going to make you think too much and instead you can just groove with it.”
Another single that has sparked excitement among fans is Watchtower. It’s a blistering attack of fast-paced metalcore that features one of the nastiest breakdowns in the band’s discography. “I refer to it as the opposite of progressive,” the vocalist says with a smile. “It’s a modern-day take on early-to-mid 2000s metalcore. It’s going back to where we came from and paying homage to it. Artists always want to bend and elasticise their sound but a lot of good can also come from going back to what once was. Like we did with Zombie II where we had a different lineup of members come up with some new tunes under the same premise.”
However, Color Decay isn’t a backwards-looking nostalgia-fest. In fact, this is one of the most progressive records the band has produced. It’s the culmination of 16 years of growth that is both accessible and challenging. Across the 12 tracks, THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA explore themes of depression, ageing and death over visceral and high-energy instrumentals.
The record’s standout moment is the closer Cancer. On this track, uplifting piano chords fuse with driving guitars as Hranica tells a heart-wrenching story of grief. It’s obvious that this moving track has a deep significance to the songwriters. As the world lurches from one crisis to the next, the sentiment is sure to resonate with listeners far and wide.
“Jon [Gering, keyboards] put that song together in a matter of minutes, just on a chorus. Another one of Jon’s heroes had passed away. Upon hearing the awful news, his initial reaction was that he hoped that it was cancer rather than suicide or drugs or something like that. The song is saying how awful it is that that was his reaction.”
It speaks to the authenticity of THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA that the track doesn’t feel exploitative but instead an honest meditation on the tragic pervasiveness of self-destructive behaviour throughout society. It also shows the band at their strongest musically; with Hranica’s raw unclean vocals complimenting one of DePoyster’s most anthemic choruses.
“The song is saying ‘what does that say about myself?’” elaborates Hranica. “It’s saying ‘I’ve seen some horrible things’. As we’re getting older in the times we live in, there’s the existence of horrible news in our daily lives. The tragedy is that you hear about the passing of artists – these really creative individuals – and it’s taxing.”
Part of what sets THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA apart is the care and attention they give to their lyrics. Mike Hranica, a vociferous reader, has even released two books that he authored. “I’m reading constantly and it’s a good kickoff point for me to creatively energise myself. Exhibition, which kicks off the record, was my take on Bleed American from JIMMY EAT WORLD. We’re in a political system across the UK, Canada, and the United States, and where a lot of left-leaning individuals such as myself and the band are not at all happy with what’s going on.”
Color Decay is out now via Solid State Records.
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