Review: Space EP by The Devil Wears Prada

by Nick

One of the biggest, if not the biggest, band in the Christian metalcore scene just released a stellar concept EP based on outer space. Personally, I have never been a big fan of space or sci-fi but this EP had me listening intently to the lyrics to really get the story and gave me the occasional goosebumps. This is not the first time the band had explored the idea of doing a concept EP, releasing their Zombie EP in 2010 based on zombies. It was such a hit that they played the entire EP on their last tour. The Space EP should get the same treatment.

The band recently resigned with Rise Records and this is their first release with them since their sophomore album Plagues released in 2007. This is also the first release from the band without founding guitarist Chris Rubey. His replacement, Kyle Sipress, had a big part in tracking as well as writing leads for most of the songs.

Each one of the six tracks features an aspect associated with outer space. Everything from the power of the moon (“Moongod”), floating through space (“Supernova”), and impending doom whether from the powers of space or from unknown creatures (“Asteroid”, “Alien”). The lyrics are woven perfectly with each song telling fictional tales that makes you wonder what would happen if any of them somehow became a reality.
The whole EP has a very atmospheric vibe that flawlessly captures the feeling of outer space. The songs are arranged to take the listener on a rollercoaster, pummeling you with the opening track “Planet A,” mellowing out with “Moongod” and the interlude “Celestial Mechanics,” and then ending with the epic “Asteroid.”

Vocalist Mike Hranica’s signature high and low screams are brutal as always with guitarist Jeremy DePoyster’s clean vocals shining as well throughout the EP. The whole band plays phenomenally on these tracks with great song structure and some brutal breakdowns in numerous songs that will definitely cause a lot of heads to bang and cause the pit to open up just a little bit bigger during shows. Definitely not their heaviest release but these songs still pack a punch.

I’m a fan of every track on this EP so it’s hard to pick a standout track but I would probably say “Planet A” and “Supernova” are definitely good choices if I really had to. Who knows what their next concept EP will be about; maybe zombies from outer space?

4.5/5

Posted in: Album Review, Metal, Out of Babylon, WSOU Exclusive