[dropcap]I[/dropcap]t’s time to take a journey through “Space” with The Devil Wears Prada, as they are set to release their new “Space EP” due out August 21st through Rise Records.
Taking a look at the night sky, is something we all have in common. Looking around at the millions of stars and the radiance of the moonlight giving us the ability to see in the darkest of places. What’s beyond that is something that The Devil Wears Prada was able to help us take another perspective of that.
A small narrative starts things off, getting you to know the spaceship commander, Elizabeth. “Planet A” gets you to understand her, but then it quickly escalates as things go wrong. The band was able to bring back their musical style from 2010’s “Zombie EP” with the powerful lyrical output from lead vocalist, Mike Hranica and the beautiful clean vocals from guitarist, Jeremy DePoyster.
“Alien” comes in second with a view that the media and the movies like to portray them as; evil, destructive and wanting to end the human race. The way this song starts off, makes you wonder what your’re about to walk into. Breaking glass and the end of a live feed, it goes right into the crushing guitars and continues your journey as things escalate even further. Is this the end of Elizabeth or can she make it out alive?
After Alien, you think the spaceship commander has met her dues, but with the next track “Moongod” it leaves you to believe she’s made it out alive and is making a call out for help. Moongod slows things down a bit, as if Elizabeth is in trouble as she calls out for the guidance to see if she made the correct decision to make this journey. This track is my personal favorite on the EP. The way it progresses overall as a song, brings light to the way the band has progressed over the last ten years.
The next track, is an instrumental titled “Celestial Mechanics” It brings an almost calming feel to it but also makes you wonder what you’re about to walk into once it ends.
Brace yourselves, a “Supernova” is about to hit. Supernova is my second favorite of the EP, and it’s not because I enjoy the thought of what the song brings out. The way this song flows coming off of an instrumental, was done in an elegant way. You had no idea if things would get better or worse on your journey at the start of this song. As you continue though it, you realize that things are about to become unfathomable in your journey.
Is this the end? Is this finally the end of the human race? With the final track off the Space EP, “Asteroid” is the way you’d expect this journey to come to an end. It comes out strong with high energy and heavy riffs, and I have to be completely honest, bone chilling vocals coming out of Mike Hranica. This song tells you that nothing is forever. That you can never forget who you are or who your friends and family are. The band laid it all out on this final song to end your journey through Space.
There were a lot of fans of The Devil Wears Prada that said they took a giant leap backwards when they released 2013’s “8:18” album, especially after what they produced with the Zombie EP and a fan favorite, “With Roots Above and Branches Below.” I do not see it that way. I see everything they have done as a progression. With the “Space EP” I see a lot of fans coming back from the bandwagon train and saying that they love this EP and cant wait to hear what they will be putting into a new full length album.
