Review Summary: Here’s an offering...of the same old formula.
The Devil Wears Prada started off as a band in 2005, then releasing Patterns of a Horizon, this then lead to the release of Dear Love: A Beautiful Discord in 2006. This album was what got TDWP noticed by all the scene boys and girls. I started listening to TDWP back in 2005, and kept following them, hoping to one day hear something new. Then I heard they were recording Plagues, I got pretty excited, but was let down.
Plagues is filled with breakdowns, boring breakdowns that all sound the same, never experimenting past the chugging and rare off note. Mike still screams the same, just with a more produced sound (and without that annoying breathing and “fail” at the end of his scream present in Dear Love). Jeremy’s cleans haven’t really changed at all, they're just more apparent on Plagues then they were on Dear Love. While on the topic of vocals, the screaming can get annoying at times, as he doesn't seem to change the tone of the screams very often. The singing on the other hand is just good enough and spread out enough to not damage the ears.
The guitar work is uninspiring, generic and repetitive, yet it still keeps you wanting to hear what else they have, sadly they never really progress beyond chugging and never really show the potential Jeremy and Chris have. The bass is just un-noticeable, you’ll occasionally hear it and when you do, it doesn't really help change the overall tone of the song. The drums are just the same generic drumming, filled up to the rim with fast drum beats, and over obsessive amounts of bass pedal. The synth just seems to be there for the hell of it sometimes. Trying to bring the song to life by being in the background, or trying to stand out, either way it rarely works. What doesn’t work is the attempt at trying to put some electronica parts into their songs, for instance the techno(ish) part near the end of “Don’t Dink and Drance”.
TDWP seem to have a problem with their writing skills (and thinking of mature song titles), they don’t have a single song with out mentioning Christianity or religious views in one way or another, and the lyrics are just all over the place; they start off by singing/screaming about one subject, and then just quickly go to another subject, their lyrics are just uninspiring, and quiet honestly, lame. Despite all of these flaws Plagues have, it's good for a couple listens every now and then. If you’re looking for an album that breaks the borderline of generic Metalcore, you’ll want to look elsewhere.
TDWP definitely have potential at being a good Metalcore band, but their just afraid to experiment and progress. All in all, TDWP continue to “plague” the Metalcore genre to its slow and decaying death.
Listen to:
- Nickels is Money Too
