Review Summary: More incredibly well-done technical metalcore from TDWP with a galactic edge.
The Devil Wears Prada has evolved from an almost-electronicore sound that spawned several ripoff bands to a more straight-up metalcore sound and, most recently, a more technical sound. Throughout all that time, they've never failed to disappoint, and the idea of a new concept EP is certainly appealing, considering Zombie EP was arguably their best effort.
You won't hear much of the crushing Zombie EP sound, though (save for maybe "Alien"). This EP sounds a little bit more like 8:18, only with more synths meant to represent "spacey" sounds--and ultimately it works out. As for the story, there's not really much of an actual story being told over five tracks like in Zombie EP--there's separate stories being told with a sci-fi theme. "Planet A" centers around a space exploration that goes wrong, while "Alien" speaks of an extraterrestrial encounter and "Asteroid" focuses on an apocalypse from one of the bigger space rocks.
Musically, the album starts off with "Planet A," which is oddly the least heavy track on the album (as far as that goes) and focuses on more of an epic synth feel. It still works very well, but not quite as brilliantly as the other tracks. "Alien," on the other hand, takes us straight into the heavy sound that TDWP is known for, including the crunchy guitar riffs, ranged screams and a strong chorus with clean vocals. "Moongod" does something a little bit different, coming up with quite a unique track; using more quiet verses with screams before leading into a fast-paced chorus with seemingly deliberately subdued clean vocals that actually work quite well. "Supernova" serves well as the lead single that it is, with its blasting riffs and soaring chorus.
"Asteroid" isn't quite the closer that "Survivor" was on Zombie EP, but it's still a worthy one as the song starts off with despairing crunches as the apocalypse draws near before moving into a spoken-word interlude from screamer Mike Hranica before ending with some more screams and rising synths and riffs. And then it ends.
Between the two EPs, Zombie's still the better of the two, but Space still stands on its own quite well as another superb offering from The Devil Wears Prada. I admit I was somewhat worried originally back when keyboard/synthesizer member James Baney left just before 8:18--taking a key part of their sound--but they've still found ways to incorporate it in, and they're still sounding as good as ever. If you enjoyed 8:18 or you're just a fan of the band in general, this is one that you can absolutely not miss.
