#dead throne

[legendarykoalapolice]

[wastedutil]

[legendarykoalapolice]

I’m born to lose

With a noose around my neck

World be dammed and move

[legendarykoalapolice]

I'm no one's hero, so just forget my name

[juggalage]

Apparently Tumblr likes mood boards? Here's the fucking mood I'm in.

"No honor, death to cowards

No honor, death to cowards"

- Arankai, "Dead Throne"

[falloutbradreviews]

The Devil Wears Prada - Color Decay One of my favorite bands about fifteen years ago was the Ohio metalcore outfit The Devil Wears Prada. I have fond memories listening to this band when I was fifteen, give or take. I found them in 2008, but I don’t think I properly listened to them until 2009 when their third album came out, 2009′s With Roots Above And Branches Below. My first experience with them was 2007′s Plagues, and listening to that album fifteen years later, I still love it. These guys were one of the main driving forces in the Risecore style of metalcore would become famous in the next couple of years. Bands like Memphis May Fire, Pierce The Veil, Blessthefall, Of Mice & Men, Attack Attack, and a lot of other bands in the same vein would release albums a year or two later, but one of the bands that started that style is TDWP. They helped to pioneer, at least, because their sound was composed of very heavy instrumentation, including a lot of breakdowns, but they also juxtaposed that with catchy hooks and choruses. With Roots Above did get a bit heavier, especially in the sense that the band wanted to be taken more seriously as a metal band, so they got heavier on their next couple of albums, including that and 2011′s Dead Throne (2010′s Zombie EP kickstarted that, and it’s considered a classic for the time, but I’m just talking albums here). I just listened to the latter album for the first time last week, and it’s a killer record, mainly because it’s a lot heavier and more mature than their earlier work prior to that. They still utilized hooks, but the riffs and breakdowns were much more emphasized. Since then, however, the band’s popularity and relevance has been fading, unfortunately. I stopped listening to them with Dead Throne, and that was because I just didn’t listen to metalcore anymore at the time; I was getting into other styles of music, including folk and indie, trying to expand my horizons, and I just felt as though I didn’t want to listen to that anymore. I still did from time to time, but I didn’t listen to it at the point that I used to. I’ve eventually gone back to really enjoying hardcore, metalcore, and post-hardcore, but there was a time when I just didn’t listen to it. Even as I’ve been getting back into the genre, The Devil Wears Prada is a band that I just haven’t wanted to listen to. From what I’ve gathered, they strayed away from their metal sound completely on a couple of records, but they’ve slowly been going back to it over the last few years. I listened to 2019′s The Act, when it came out, and I remember it to be an interesting mix of metalcore, post-hardcore, alt-metal, and hard-rock. What’s also interesting about it is that it was their first album with Solid State, but the band would eventually come back last year with Zombie II, a sequel to the EP of the same name. I only listened to it a couple of times, but it was a heavy record, definitely akin to their early work, so people were excited.

Well, we’ve got their newest LP, Color Decay, and as is the case with a lot of stuff, I didn’t know this was coming out until the week of release. I was honestly kind of looking forward to it, because I’ve been in a metalcore mood for the last few weeks. A lot of good metalcore albums have been coming out, so I’ve wanted to check it out, and to preface how I feel about this album, I’ll say this for now -- this is one of the only albums I’ve been listening to all week. In case that doesn’t give it away, I really love this album. Color Decay is one of the best albums of the year, but make no mistake, this record is not a return to form for this band. The best way to describe this album is a crossroads between metalcore, post-hardcore, and hard-rock; the breakdowns and harsh vocals from vocalist Mike Hranica are back in full force (he screamed a little bit on The Act, but I think he tried his hand at singing, too), but there are a lot of catchy hooks and some radio-friendly tunes. The album doesn’t go full metalcore, like their early work, and the hooks are a lot more refined and less over the top compared to their early work as well.

The album’s opener, “Exhibition,” is a good indicator what you’ll get, as it has heavy verses and a clean chorus, along with a pretty good breakdown in the middle, and that’s the basic formula of most of the album, but there are some deviations, such as the synth-heavy “Fire,” which is this synth-rock/pop song that has a good hook, or the very depressing closer, “Cancer,” which is a piano-led ballad. The song “Twenty-Five” is a bit different, too, as Hranica’s vocals are more in the vein of wailing, versus screaming, and it’s really cool. The album does have a lot of very similar-sounding moments, but nothing on this album sounds boring, repetitive, or uninteresting, it manages to keep your interest throughout it. At 45 minutes, this album is a bit daunting, but it surprising goes by quick. It’s not as long as you’d think, and I love it for that. Everything sounds really good here, and for those that want them to go back to their old sound, you’ll get glimpses of it here and there, but it’s a lot cleaner than it was in the past. I have nothing against that, and in fact, I welcome it, because it makes their sound more accessible. It’s unfortunate that this band has become sort of irrelevant over the last decade, pretty much, but this album might get them that late-career kick they need. It happens sometimes, so hopefully this album gets them some more success. It’s surprisingly good, and it’s way better than I was expecting. It’s one of the only albums I’ve been listening to all week, and I’ve been having a blast with it, because it just hits that metalcore itch that I’ve been having. I’ve been struggling to find albums that successfully scratch it, but this one does just that, and I love it. If you’re like me, and you haven’t really listened to them in the last decade and some odd years, you should do yourself a favor and check this one out. It’s a good album, maybe even a great one. I can guarantee I’ll be playing it a lot more in the coming months before the year’s end, so it’ll successfully earn a slot on my yearend list.