Devil Wears Prada, The - Zombie EP

The Devil Wears Prada - Zombie EP
Record Label: Ferret Records
Release Date: August 24, 2010

When you get the idea of The Devil Wears Prada releasing an EP, you would assume it's a continuation of their 2009 release, With Roots Above and Branches Below. This is partially true, but they have improved slightly. When you think of Zombie EP, it sounds like the album is going to be about, well, zombies. It is, and you would wonder how they can write lyrics to songs about a zombie invasion. For the most part, it works and it's catchy, and that's what a lot of metalcore bands try to achieve today. The Devil Wears Prada is a mere exception.

The opening song is "Escape" which opens rather softly for about 30 seconds, and boom! Fast, heavy guitars with Mike Hranica's deep dog growls kick in, and the song is by far the heaviest on the EP and their career. Listen to this song, and you can definitely notice that his screaming has changed; Hranica definitely uses his death growl a lot more than he did on WRAaBB. What else is noticeable are better breakdowns and production in the songs. Jeremy DePoyster is still singing, albeit not improved, and the guitars and drumming are even more ferocious than last time. However, Hranica's high-pitched screaming will still get annoying pretty easily. Luckily it's lacking in this EP.

"Anatomy" starts with a chainsaw revving, and another breakdown. It's not too much of an exciting song. However, "Revive" is the best song on the album. It starts with a guitar riff, and then comes down with what is arguably the best breakdown of their career. In "Outnumbered", Hranica screams: "In a sea of stinking rot / in a place where living humans are no longer the hunters / all the money in the world won't satisfy the enemy / Hunted, hunted, hunted, hunted." Their songwriting hasn't changed all that much, however. It is still decent and better than some metalcore acts. "Revive" has a catchy chorus, with DePoyster and Hranica tag teaming: "We cannot restore (restore), we cannot recover (recover) / all is lost in the flood of the risen dead / We cannot restore (restore), we cannot recover (recover) / all is lost in the storm of the disgraceful."

Hranica stated in an interview that Zombie EP was his idea, and the band went ahead with it and made it. He also mentioned that this EP is an example of what their fourth album is going to be like. If this is the case, then I cannot wait for it. This EP is a noticeable improvement over their past album, and hopefully in the future they won't steer into a broken path.

Recommended If You Like Metalcore, their past albums, Miss May I w/o singing

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My Favorite TracksEscape; Revive