The Devil Wears Prada - Transit Blues (Album Review)

The Devil Wears Prada has been a staple metalcore band for quite a few years now. I was really interested to hear their sixth album, Transit Blues. While I enjoyed 2011s Dead Throne, 2013s 8:18 didn't hit me quite as hard. However, the singles leading up to Transit Blues were, in my opinion, some of the better ones that I had heard from the band.

I think the best way to describe Transit Blues would be to say it has nicely executed sonic progression. New lead guitarist Kyle Sipress and vocalist Mike Hranica help push this band further than they have ever gone. The album explores more melodic elements as well as more atmospheric elements. It is a lot less paint-by-number than most metalcore or even some of Prada's previous albums and the band benefits from the sonic exploration. I think it is a direction that is not only really good, but it has quite possibly helped them craft the best TDWP album to date.

Hranica's scream has been slightly modified, in a good way. It is still brutal, at times, like it has always been. However, he's also using a slightly higher scream on some of this record. I think this adds a lot to the album. I think the clean vocals fit the songs better and no longer serve as kind of a must need metalcore/screamo element and instead have become more essential and organically placed in the music. This is the type of sonic growth that we've seen from bands like Norma Jean that has not only kept them sounding fresh, but has also helped them maintain relevance in today's metal scene. A song like "The Condition" has great atmospheric guitar and vocals leading into the song. It's quite interesting to see Prada use elements like this to the level of success that they achieve on this album.

Overall, this is the type of album that you like to hear from a band that is this far into their career. It shows good progress and a nice refinement, musically. Like I mentioned above, I think this has the potential to be their best album or at least the second best in their discography. I'll know after it sets with me more. I'm still pretty fond of Dead Throne, but there is no denying that these are probably some of the best songs that this band has ever written.