Album Review: The Devil Wears Prada - 'Colour Decay'
An archaic album tackling isolation, disparity and reflection with their trademark heaviness, Colour Decay is TDWP at their most brutally honest.
A hardcore spirit embellished within the realms of poignant lyricism is often unkept within the world of music, but one band that has been delivering consistently since they came together in 2005, has been Ohio-based metalcore band, The Devil Wears Prada. Their batter-ram signature style of this melodic exorcism they have contorted, has been constantly evolving from "metalcore landmark" With Roots Above and Branches Below in 2009 to Dead & Alive in 2012 to The Act pre-pandemic in 2019 and finally settling on their eighth-full length offering of Colour Decay.
TDWP are never one to shy away from experimenting with themselves musically, often being quite vocal in fashioning many layers of sonic hues rippled throughout their works. This dynamic divergence may see them harnessing the true power of screamo and sludge - or may even see them dive off into a corner for some spoken word or adopt their inner-Bonobo for atmospheric electronica. Many a time, it's being equally fulfilling and equally frustrating being a TDWP because you just don't know which path they'll take themselves down next.
Laid bare, Colour Decay is a record about hope, a crushing voice so you can break through the dissonance and overcome your past traumas. Emblazoned tracks, Sacrifice, Trapped and Time really hone in on this point and deliver with blaring heaviness and yet, deliver with impactful introspection as vocalist Mike echoes, "does it feel like a heart attack/like there's no way out and no way back/I hate that you're being trapped by your issues, but I'm here with you." While the likes of stand-outs Exhibition, Salt and Watchtower come out full throttle right from the gate, ultimately glaring at the the cruel passing of time, "Time's moving like lightning/Time shifts like a glacier/It's the opposites that I can't accept/This collision certain death and drives an assortment of unrelenting thumping as the 6-piece ricochet off one another with full frontal force, Prada-style.
While TDWP can go emphatically bold with incessant breakdowns, dirty guitar lick inflections and raging drums, they can do the polar opposite with a sleek finish. Poignant storytellings of Twenty-Five and Fire break-up the screamo - albeit for a few minutes - further fleshing out a truly masterful album before we head into the dredging outro act of Hallucinate and Cancer, which harks back to With Roots Above... distorted style, ladened with an evolving sound to keep it fresh and current for the sound and stage of 2022's metal-core.
Whether it was the lads decamping to hideaways slotted in the Desert Hot Springs or the idled time away from the prying eyes of the public in lockdown, TDWP have really struck gold with their most recent record.
Despite its presented album title, it's certainly not devoid of life... or colour for that matter.
Ahead of their release of Colour Decay this Friday, they are also heading across the pond to the UK for a tour, gladly joined with the likes of Wage War. You can view the dates below, so if they're turning up in a town close to you, make sure to not miss them performing some of their new stuff:
15-Oct Bristol, SWX
16-Oct Newcastle, University
18-Oct Leeds, Stylus
19-Oct Manchester, O2 Ritz
20-Oct Glasgow, Garage
22-Oct Dublin, Academy
24-Oct Birmingham, O2 Institute
25-Oct Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms
26-Oct London, Electric Ballroom
Words by Alex Curle
