The Devil Wears Prada - Plagues
Ferret Music/Rise Records - F0892 - 20th August, 2007
By Paddy Walsh
This Dayton, ohio metalcore outift apparently have 135,000 friends on MySpace. Now whilst the advent of social networking websites has given bands a fantastic outlet for self-promotion, it's becoming an irritating habit of labels to quote the amount of Myspace 'friends' a band has, as if it were some indication as to the group's quality. As if collecting friends on Myspace was in itself an act of musical ability. As if...get the idea?
Well they didn't fool me, because Plagues unfortunately offers little new to the glut of metalcore pretenders - riffs pilfered from Sweden, At The Gates-isms all over the place, 'melodic' choruses featuring horrible floppy-fringed vocals - you get the picture. Without trying to sound too harsh, on the plus side these guys are indeed very capable musicians, and there are occasional moments of inspiration on Plagues, such as the slowed-down chugathon of 'Hey John, What's Your Name Again?' Furthermore, when the vocalist isn't whining into his microphone he is capable of some satisfying growls. However, it's impossible to recommend Plagues to anyone but the most ruthless of metalcore masochists becaause, unfortunately, The Devil Wears Prada do very little to distinguish themselves from the pack, and with a genre as saturated as this it's becoming increasingly difficult for prospective bands to do so. Overall, then, another album of well-played metalcore that's stilted by its indistinguishable sound, irritating clean vocals and lack of anything to really make it stand out from the crowd. All The Devil Wears Prada have done is make me yearn for the good ol' days when In Flames were considered new and interesting. See the way I managed to neatly side step the fact that they're Christian and write a completely unbiased review?
Official The Devil Wears Prada Myspace
Official Ferret Music Website
Ferret Music/Rise Records - F0892 - 20th August, 2007
By Paddy Walsh
This Dayton, ohio metalcore outift apparently have 135,000 friends on MySpace. Now whilst the advent of social networking websites has given bands a fantastic outlet for self-promotion, it's becoming an irritating habit of labels to quote the amount of Myspace 'friends' a band has, as if it were some indication as to the group's quality. As if collecting friends on Myspace was in itself an act of musical ability. As if...get the idea?
Well they didn't fool me, because Plagues unfortunately offers little new to the glut of metalcore pretenders - riffs pilfered from Sweden, At The Gates-isms all over the place, 'melodic' choruses featuring horrible floppy-fringed vocals - you get the picture. Without trying to sound too harsh, on the plus side these guys are indeed very capable musicians, and there are occasional moments of inspiration on Plagues, such as the slowed-down chugathon of 'Hey John, What's Your Name Again?' Furthermore, when the vocalist isn't whining into his microphone he is capable of some satisfying growls. However, it's impossible to recommend Plagues to anyone but the most ruthless of metalcore masochists becaause, unfortunately, The Devil Wears Prada do very little to distinguish themselves from the pack, and with a genre as saturated as this it's becoming increasingly difficult for prospective bands to do so. Overall, then, another album of well-played metalcore that's stilted by its indistinguishable sound, irritating clean vocals and lack of anything to really make it stand out from the crowd. All The Devil Wears Prada have done is make me yearn for the good ol' days when In Flames were considered new and interesting. See the way I managed to neatly side step the fact that they're Christian and write a completely unbiased review?
Official The Devil Wears Prada Myspace
Official Ferret Music Website
