Mind Equals Blown

The Devil Wears Prada is back, bringing ‘the heavy’ and pleasing fans as they always have.  An interesting idea for a concept album, Zombie EP is the band’s idea of a fun and creative project – and surely something the scene will eat up.  It’s been a pretty low-profile project, adding to the eeriness of the album itself, minus the early release of the track “Outnumbered,” which was meant to draw attention and give fans a taste of what they’ve made.  Not too much has changed musically, aside from the more frequent use of sound effects and sampling.  If not for the theme, I think that the five tracks could’ve easily been added to the last full-length.

Even though they have decided to do something a little different, the band hasn’t forgotten what they do best.  The same expected sound is still evident and unmistakable.  There is great drumming from Daniel Williams, as he experiments and masters his use of different cymbals.  Mike Hranica brings his ‘A’ game, with great use of range and power in his vocals, at times being accompanied by Jeremy DePoyster’s clean vocals, as he tries his hand at a little vocal heat in the track, “Survivor.”

It’s tough for me to choose a favorite song off this EP, as I have accepted it as a whole.  However, if I were forced to, I’d have to go with “Anatomy.”  After a calm intro, it becomes a faster paced song than I’d expected from the band. There are some awesome keys arpeggios that really add to the mood.  For me, a riff made of solely pinch harmonics more than makes up for the cheesy sound bite.  Tremolo picking and chugs carry the song between breakdowns, and the breakdown at 2:20 is full of dissonance and complete with a pretty useful siren effect.

My least favorite track from the EP is definitely “Revive.”  I’m not really sure where the main riff came from because it seems pretty mindless.  I really don’t enjoy the opera-style sound bytes, and I find the chorus to be lacking both lyrically and musically.  It is not as awful as the news report sound clip at the beginning of “Outnumbered,” but it certainly doesn’t score them any points.

Taking everything into account, this is a pretty solid release.  The band has had their fun and will hopefully get back to full-lengths.  They did a good job of giving a creepy vibe throughout the EP, and I suppose the sound clips and effects did contribute to that feeling significantly.  This EP has made me wonder if there could possibly be a movie in the band’s future, or a Broadway show for all I know.  One thing’s for sure, I would be less perturbed seeing them in that position than Green Day.