Album Review // Plagues

The Devil Wears Prada released ‘Plagues’ as their second album in 2007 and it has remained a favorite of mine after all these years. Almost every album and EP these guys release is hailed as “their best material ever” by some faction of their fan base, but I actually think I could make the argument that ‘Plagues’ is truly the best.

TDWP was one of the early pillars of metalcore and this album was what cemented them as one of the greats. Mike’s vocal range back then was outstanding and I credit him for my love of high screams in metalcore.

The way he flows from lows to highs is what makes the album a favorite of mine because it sounds like he is literally giving it his all in every single verse. Even the mid screams have purpose, especially compared to a lot of bands that use them as space fillers.

One of the things I love about TDWP’s old material is that they gave the cleans their own space and then layered the screams directly on top of them. This allowed them to really highlight the contrast between the light and heavy parts which resulted in even heavier sounding breakdowns.

For instance, in “HTML Rulez D00d” and “This Song Is Called” they slowed the songs down to let the cleans set the mood for thirty seconds, introduced the background screams, and then violently dropped all the instruments in to create a chaotic breakdown. It’s such a simple formula but it showcases a critical element of early metalcore that has been lost over the years. I’m not sure why but bands these days hardly ever let the cleans and screams directly interact.

By giving the cleans thirty seconds to shine they let the listener relax before being plunged back into the heaviness. The way it transitions is awesome because the screams slowly get added back in while the instruments are still light and then suddenly everything hits. It’s especially cool when they have the piano as the primary contributor during the soft part because when all the heavy instruments come back in the piano sticks around in the background.

Another aspect of old metalcore that I realized I miss after listening to old TDWP is how bands used to repeat the same line over and over but with a different vocal style each time. “The Scorpion Deathlock” has a perfect example of what I’m talking about; it let Mike showcase his range as each repetition increased the intensity. This statement is even more relevant to their first album but I’ll save it for that review.

The main highlight of this album is how intense it is. Mike was a madman with his vocals back then and when you combined them with the chaotic instruments you got songs that were overflowing with energy. Metalcore as a genre has changed a lot since ‘Plagues’ came out and one of the things that current bands always seem to be lacking is the pure energy that make crowds move (think The Chariot, The Dillinger Escape Plan, letlive., etc.). TDWP has evolved past that style too but I’m hoping a new wave of bands can bring back the energy that metalcore once had.