Review Summary: Simple, slick, and stylish, Space sees the band treading familiar territory in a refreshing fashion.
The Devil Wears Prada is a great example of a band that found their sound early on. Since their inception they’ve been putting out consistently decent mallcore for the masses – heavy riffs, quirky keyboards and catchy choruses galore. Their latest outing,
Space, is generally more of the same. Aside from its name, song titles, and an admittedly pleasant soundscape that gives the album a spacey vibe, not much separates
Space from the rest of TDWP’s catalog. However, it has a leg up on a majority of their LPs because not only is the songwriting tighter this time around, but the short length (20 minutes) makes for a concise and enjoyable listening experience allowing each track its own standalone merit (sans the pointless interlude).
Space is quite varied instrumentally as well. Sure, the tracks themselves are fairly paint-by-numbers metalcore, but there are defining and memorable qualities in each one – such as the dissonant, eerie verses of ‘Supernova’, the ominous keyboard echoes on ‘Planet A’, or the passionate yelling over the melodic progressions closing out ‘Asteroids’ (one of the finest tracks they’ve put out in a while). It’s familiar territory the band is treading, but this familiarity of the genre paired with its elegant spacey backdrop makes the EP a refreshing spin on previous works. From beginning to end,
Space is a worthwhile journey for any fan of conventional metalcore with energetic riffs and melodic hooks. It won’t change anyone’s opinion on the genre, or the band for that matter, but for those who like their metalcore simple, slick, and stylish, The Devil Wears Prada has put out another winner.
