Heavenly hardcore from The Devil Wears Prada

By Austin Newman
Riverside High School

I’m a guy, and I like The Devil Wears Prada.

But by The Devil Wears Prada, I don’t mean the fashion-oriented book or film. No, I’m talking about the Christian hardcore band — which has no relation to the aforementioned Prada.

This relatively new band isn’t my absolute favorite at present, but it is one of my current favorite hardcore bands. It combines brutal guitars, thunderous drums, a booming bass and alternating vocal styles (clean singing from the rhythm guitarist, shrill screams and guttural death metal growls from the vocalist) topped off with a keyboardist.

Its first full-length album, “Dear Love: A Beautiful Discord,” was released in August and is a remake of the past EP “Patterns of a Horizon” with two new songs added. As an additional interesting bonus, the end of each song fades into the beginning of the next with a smooth transition, making the album feel like one awesome 40-minute song.

Plus, Prada throws in three instrumentals to divide its album, ending the final one with a few powerfully-delivered lines. From the brutal breakdowns to dual screams and growls, there isn’t much to be missed from Prada.

Besides the fact that some of the longer songs have a tendency to drag on, my biggest complaint is the lack of intricate instrument work. The drumming is decent but could have used a faster double bass. And the bass guitar isn’t very audible unless it is playing only alongside the drums. Finally, the guitar work lacks solos, which I would have enjoyed hearing.

There’s nothing wrong with screamer Mike Hranica. With his huge range of screams, you really can’t complain (unless you like the pig squeal, which he doesn’t really do.) Jeremy DePoyster, who’s responsible for the cleaner vocals, has a decent voice that sometimes resembles a singing style close to emo.

But even with these flaws, I have to give this band credit — its lead guitarist and screamer are still seniors in high school! I would give “Dear Love” a four out of five and recommend that any hardcore fan buy it.

The Devil Wears Prada plans to release its next album, which is currently untitled, in August. You can hear a demo version of one of its songs, plus three songs from “Dear Love” at the band’s MySpace page (www.myspace.com/tdwp). Two additional songs can be found on its Pure Volume page (www.purevolume.com/thedevilwearsprada).

Prada played in Ronceverte a few months ago and will be in West Virginia once again when it hits HYAMP in Huntington on March 3 with Blacklisted, From a Second Story Window, See You Next Tuesday, Nights Like These and Beyond All Hope. Cost is $10, and the show starts at 7 p.m.