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The metal scene has been overflowing with repeat sounding bands for the last year or so now. It feels like once Job For A Cowboy hit it big, everyone who heard them and was thinking about starting a band went ahead and did it, mimicking what they had heard on forerunner’s albums. Soon, every demo and release had the classic “four B’s”, Bass drops, Breakdowns, Bree’s, and double Bass kick. It gets so ridiculous that you can call a bass drop before it hits the first time listening to an album, or compare three or four tracks from different albums, all with identical “bree’s” with a combination of varying but similar breakdowns. As more and more kids are exposed to this style, we now have a vicious cycle of “The Four B Bands”. Some of it can be fun and enjoyable, but it is in no way refreshing.

This brings me to my review of Plagues, the sophomore release from Dayton, Ohio’s The Devil Wears Prada. In a world of cookie cutter metal bands, Prada manages to come alive like the gingerbread man, and wreak some sweet and long awaited havoc, the right way. Yes, this band does most definitely utilize almost all of the B’s, but does so in a way that re-invents what you have learned from the last year cruising band’s Myspace’s to see what is out there. Prada adds in a fifth and necessary B to the equation, Brevity. Not in the sense that the songs are short, but in a way that when they write some ridiculously good breakdown (the keyboard driven ones on this album are pant wetting) they don’t ride it for half of the song, but just long enough for you to want to revisit the track to hear that brief snippet of scene drenched guitar/keyboard goodness that starts to get you pumped for life before it drops off and takes you deeper into the diverse world of Plagues. Case in point, the song “Don’t Dink and Drance” features this amazing breakdown about two minutes into the song, and they only repeat it twice (are you guys taking notes?) before ripping into some nuts keyboard on guitar action, and then changing it up with another completely different breakdown to finish off the song.

While I could praise breakdowns for the rest of this review, it is time to bring up another stunning feat this band pulls off, which is that amidst lead singer Mike Hrancia slaughterhouse of highs and lows, the audible singing by Jeremy DePoyster manages to not sound like a Creed or Lifehouse guest vocal in the middle of some devastatingly good metal tune. You all know what I am talking about, you are bumpin some nuts track with the vocals shredding around your speakers, then it suddenly sounds like someone invited Josey Scott to ruin the song with some bro’ed out vocals. DePoyster’s smooth voice blends in perfectly here and there along the album, matching Hrancia’s brutal lows with smooth vocals, guiding you perfectly through Plagues and not letting you take a breath in between the physical punch this album packs.

As mentioned earlier, the keyboard work in this album is something completely new. It lies somewhere amidst styles similar to Arsonists Get All The Girls or Kentucky Waterfall, popping up in the most unexpected places and turning out to be an amazing addition to this album.

Simply put, this album is an extremely good time. I haven’t felt this pumped listening to an entire album straight through since Underoath’s Cries of the Past (if you just disregarded this entire review since I dropped the U bomb, check out the bands pre Solid State Records material.) I can guarantee that you will be extremely satisfied with this album, and will hopefully feel the dying flame in your heart for diversity in metal rekindled, Plagues style.  

 

1. "Goats on a Boat"
2. "Number Three, Never Forget"
3. "HTML Rulez d00d"
4. "Hey John, What's Your Name Again?"
5. "Don't Dink and Drance"
6. "You Can't Spell Crap Without 'C'"
7. "This Song is Called"
8. "Reptar, King of the Ozone"
9. "The Scorpion Deathlock"
10. "Nickels is Money Too" 

Release Date: August 21, 2007