The Devil Wears Prada Spreads the Color Decay

By Phil Hawkins

“Contrast gives art dimension. The juxtaposition of two seemingly disparate elements sparks friction, bringing life to any canvas. The Devil Wears Prada rely on contrast as they nimbly balance metallic turbulence, hardcore spirit, provocatively eloquent lyricism, and melodic exorcism. In between these opposing extremes, TDWP have fashioned an ever-evolving signature style buttressed by layers of sonic hues.”

The Devil Wears Prada spreads the Color Decay with their eighth full-length album that releases September 16th via Solid State Records following the release of the ZII EP released in 2021. Color Decay builds upon the sound that TDWP presented on 2019’s The Act while blending elements of their previous efforts prior to signing to Solid State.

The album opens with “Exhibition” which wastes no time setting the pace for the album as a whole. It draws from the musical maturity heard on The Act and throws some nods to their early work with some sampled chant-like vocalizing in the background strewn about. It’s a gripping barn burner of an opening track. “Salt” follows and exhibits some classic TDWP guitar work while keeping a bit of a vocal mid range but not losing any ferocity in the process. “Watchtower” is another solid track and seems to fully embrace the sound heard on The Act. For some that may be a bit of a downer, but it is sure to grow on those individuals over time as the lyrical theme is sure to resonate on multiple levels as a lot of the subject matter touches on anxiety and mental health.

“Noise” quickly embraces Hranica’s vocal delivery that pushes the line of desperation that creates an atmosphere of authenticity that can only be achieved by someone living or has lived the very experiences they are writing/singing about. The line; “I can’t sleep cause the sky is falling. Rest in peace, the noise is calling.” resonates as the track draws to a close. “Broken” which was just released as a single this week feels more like a radio friendly version of TDWP, but it plays to the strengths and maturity that have been presented in the past on tracks like “Chemical” from The Act. “Sacrifice,” which was released almost a year ago feels much like a B-Side to ZII, but finds a solid home on Color Decay as it closes out the first half of the album.

The second half of the album opens with “Trapped” which almost feels like it may have fit better on The Act and could easily get lost being this late on the album as the majority of the album singles are in the first half (4 out of 5). “Time” follows (the remaining single from the album) and picks things back up in a similar way that “Exhibition” opened the album and contains more solid lyricism with lines like; “Time is moving like lightning, time shifts like a glacier.” that paint such a vivid picture of how time is fleeting in varied forms whether that be by moving to quickly or not quick enough. “Twenty-Five” is another track that might get lost in the last half of the album, but is a solid example of the hard/soft complexity that TDWP have embraced in recent years formulating a sound that is easily becoming definable as their own.

“Fire” is easily the “slowest” track on the album and if it weren’t for “Cancer” it would be the perfect closer to the album. “Hallucinate” brings back the heaviness and ferocity that is commonplace on the earlier portions of the album. However, the almost over usage of voice modulation on a couple of parts seems to take away from the track as a whole, but based on the perspective of how the track was written it makes sense and fits well and serves as a prelude of sorts to “Cancer.” “Cancer” is a heart-wrenching finale that echoes the refrain; “I hope that it’s cancer and not something else, because I don’t need anymore things I don’t want to talk about.” which is a harsh reality that all to many people deal with in today’s society.

When The Act released back in 2019 I wasn’t a fan at first. It was a slow burn and took some time to grow on me. However, it ended up being my favorite album for that year as it showed a vast progression and maturity that TDWP had undergone in the years prior to. Color Decay builds on that and carries it forward with minimal effort, but excels in it’s maturity thanks very much to the lyrical depth that each track is overflowing with.

Color Decay releases this Friday (September 16th) via Solid State Records and you can purchase physical copies here. It will also be available for streaming and purchase via all major digital retailers.