The Devil Wears Prada
Zombie Ep

Hardcore and zombies: is there a better combination? I think not! It's been almost a year since one of the best releases in recent times by The Devil Wears Prada. But it's not a full album but rather an EP of 5 tracks in a crescendo full of adrenaline, anguish, despair, and above all, blood. In liters. These adjectives seem more suited to a horror film, but this is precisely the idea behind their production: to recreate the apocalyptic scenery of a zombie invasion in a hardcore style. Spectacular. But let's take it easy.

TDWP is a band from Ohio, which identifies with the Christian Metalcore label, but this time they set aside their divine influence, though not abandoning it, to be clear, and they dedicate themselves to the creation of this work that constitutes a new affirmation of their line-up. The devils inheritors of an excellent "With Roots Above and Branches Below" build something that differs little from this last production, but they manage to remix everything they already know how to do in an original and convincing way, almost to the point of not seeming like themselves at first glance. The two guitars sound meaner, accompanied by a constant double pedal, while screamer Mike Hranica's voice doubles almost in every track, shifting from his usual scream to well-balanced powerful growls. The synth and electronics still dominate, becoming an unmistakable and characteristic part of the band, like the various breakdowns untangled in an intelligent and non-monotonous way. And then, there could be no lack of the clean vocals of guitarist Jeremy DePoyster to which we have always been accustomed, who, with his more echoing choruses than usual, this time manages to excellently complete Mike's narrative. Ferocious roars of a storm, strong wind, and pounding rain precede Hranica's breath in the first track "Escape". "There's no time" yells the American frontman, straining his voice in an attempt to warn us of an imminent danger, but a voice shortly after contradicts him: "Omg they're everywhere". They're here now, it's unclear what exactly, but they've arrived en masse and discovered us. It's unclear what's happening, but we know what to do: follow your instinct, run as far as possible, concentrate your energies on this and leave behind every memory or remorse. A fire alarm captures our attention, but don't turn back, run as fast as you can, there are much more unsettling and scary noises: growls and moans can be heard everywhere.. This is a concentration of what the first track conveys, incredibly allowing us, thanks to the lyrics and sounds used (the alarms, the howls, the screams), to mold a vivid scene before our eyes or to bring to mind the typical scenes of a zombie apocalypse film of which the piece constitutes a perfect soundtrack. Definitely to be mentioned is the three-quarter breakdown of the track launched by a gunshot (a nice feat).

The start of a chainsaw launches "Anatomy": yes, it's now certain, those are zombies, not dead, infected. The infection begins with a fever that consumes the victim's body, which shortly after is reborn, with cold, grayish skin, destroyed and hungry. Mike, involving with exchanges of scream and growl, clearly describes the effects of the virus, which seems unstoppable. The last distant verses of the guitarist disorient and leave no escape: "Close your eyes, but nothing changes"; it's absurd how everything has decayed so quickly, there's no more time to think, cry, lament. Everything is going to hell, but we're still unaware of it. The world is imploding, but we stubbornly try to give ourselves some form of rationality, to refuse what's happening, to return to order, but nothing. It's useless. "We Are Outnumbered" is the warning of a radio transmitter that reiterates and warns us about what's happening: the virus has reached the whole world, isolate the infected and have no contact with them and alternatively.. destroy their brain! The world is now collapsing on itself. The human race quickly became the minority and shelters and fortifies itself in every way to try to resist, or hope to resist, the waves of undead. This is the central piece of the entire EP, built in an orderly manner, impactful and violent, softened only by keyboard notes during the breakdowns. In "Revive" all efforts are made to survive, and there's still hope of returning to normality. Everything vanished in a very short time, but no cure has been found or rather no cure exists. It's impossible to abandon the past life, everything that has been, what you've done, what you've loved. And this turns into anger and despair, vented into gunshots against the monsters' fury. The final part of the track extends with a bittersweet motif that gives way to grunts of enraged infected eliminated by a panting man's carbine: the "Survivor". This is the title of the last piece, which begins in a truly rhapsodic and suggestive environment, where everything slows down, and the story focuses on the story of a man who finds himself alone in a country house fighting against a world of infected. The riffs become more intricate, the drums slow down, and Mike and DePoyster are heard in a confused and distressing synth background. The final breakdowns do not conclude this obsessive vision that continues with silent instruments and is accompanied by an evanescent, mischievous laugh. And here concentrate all our darkest visions, emerge our deepest nightmares.

The apocalyptic vision of an abandoned city, the phobia of the presence of death, the personification of our most irrational feelings come to life in the story so well played by TDWP. As in Dawn of the Dead, the story is left in suspense, it's unknown what the fate of our world will be, now vanished and of which remains a distant and not well-defined memory (the final laugh). Perfect soundtrack for a Romero film, and overwhelming adaptation to books like The Zombie Survival Guide, it cannot help but remind enthusiasts (yes, we like it) of the Zombie genre, the survival-horror Resident Evil, or Left4dead. The game is the same, the monsters are the same, the shotgun is loaded.. wearing Prada won't save you.