Devil Wears Prada takes on zombie horde with recent EP
Posted by The Skyliner on September 1st, 2010Taylor Edwards
Staff Writer
The beautiful chaos of The Devil Wears Prada’s new Zombie EP hit the shelves on August 24, receiving great reviews from AbsolutePunk.net, Audio Opinions, Dead Press!, Blare Magazine and more. The five-track Zombie EP is a prime example of the maturity that the band has gained since its three previous albums.
The Devil Wears Prada has never written songs about popular themes in today’s media, which begs a question: why did they decide to write about zombies this time? Mike Hranica, lead vocalist, explains it quite simply, “Last fall, I was on a real zombie kick. I read The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks, and I thought, ‘What if we made a zombie song?’ All it took was me just saying that to the band, and we had our hearts set on doing this EP.”
The only honest way to describe the effect of the Zombie EP is a devastating punch to the chest, followed by a relentless barrage of brutal instrumentals and vocals. Hranica’s screaming vocals have improved with every album that the band releases and this EP is no exception to that rule. As always, Jeremy Depoyster’s clean vocals provide the perfect contrast to Hranica’s howls, creating a beautifully haunting sound rarely found in this genre of music.As time progresses, Hranica has discovered how wide his vocal range is and it seems as if he has finally unleashed the full fury of it in Zombie. As far as instrumentals go, the overwhelming consensus is that The Devil Wears Prada has never written music this quickly. The band itself said this EP is the “fastest music they’ve ever written.”
As attention-grabbing as the zombie idea is to The Devil Wears Prada’s fans, the band did not write the lyrics for this album only with the intention of entertaining. In keeping with the Christian witness that they have set before them with previous music releases, TDWP added several underlying Christian themes to the lyrics of the Zombie EP.
Though some may disagree, it can easily be inferred that when The Devil Wears Prada sings about the terrible zombie virus, they are alluding also to the effects of sin on people. In the second track, Anatomy, the idea is portrayed in this line: “With fever, with virus comes the harshest judgment/Haunting elements create a horrific monster.” When sin overwhelms a person, it truly does create a horrific monster. TDWP also speaks of the situation that the Christians of the world find ourselves in today: “We have reached the new world wasteland/Population converted: One by one, thousands upon thousands/Like scavengers on waste, like vultures on the sick, zombies outnumber the living/We are the outnumbered.” The world preys upon Christians, and TDWP speaks out with a loud voice concerning this terrible condition.
With the release of the Zombie EP, The Devil Wears Prada has shown the world that not only are they capable of writing some of the best music in their genre, but that they are also determined to shout their Christian witness through their music. This EP should be a signal for Christians to fight back against the world and to reclaim it for Christ. In the band’s own words, “This is a call to arms, human race.”
Tags: Fall 2010, Vol. 111 - Issue 1