Review Summary: This is not your average metalcore. This is something new. The album is certainly a combination of creativity, courage, and passion.
Alright, since this is my first time, please excuse any "noobness" that may exist.
What do you think of when someone mentions the word "metalcore"? Do heavy guitar riffs, an abundance of breakdowns, hardcore screaming, and death metal roaring come into your mind? If this is what you believe metalcore should be defined as, then I would not include The Devil Wears Prada in the genre. Not this album.
This album leans more towards a mixture of sound effects from a keyboard, non-repetitive guitar riffs, and a wide range of screaming. If you asked any TDWP fan why they like their music, they probably couldn't tell you very directly. Why? Because all the songs seems to be so randomly structured that you'd wonder how these guys came up with them. There are few breakdowns in the entire album, so if you're into those, this may be not for you.
Throughout the album, you have your intensive tracks that sweep you off your feet from the beginning and have you entertained throughout the whole song, and then you have your "rest" tracks, where it's just a bunch of soothing sound effects.
I'm going to focus on the highlight of the album,
Dogs Can Grow Beards All Over. The song enters with a catchy guitar riff, and 9 seconds into the song, the vocal comes in screaming at full blast. The riff lasts for 30 seconds and then it drops down to a round of death-like muted-riffs. The screaming changes slightly here and there, high and low. After some more pure roaring and screaming, the clear-singing enters at 2:15, singing "He wears a slick jacket and gold watch." This goes on for about 35 seconds until we hit the final breakdown. The song ends with a high, technical riff.
So basically, you hear 5, 6 different instruments/effects throughout the entire song, and this goes for most of their full-length 3-4 minute tracks.
I personally like a lot of stuff from Beneath The Sky, Parkway Drive, and I Killed The Prom Queen, so I don't know if that helps guide people who might be interested in the album in any way. Finally, I would like to remind people that religion does not make music bad. A lot of people feel a certain kind of discrimination towards them because they are "Christian". Don't worry, that fact does not lower the standard of the music they produce at any rate in the metalcore scene.
