Search - The Devil Wears Prada :: With Roots Above And Branches Below

Le Gasp! A reviewer not giving it 5 stars!? Blasphemy!

Map_Of_The_Problematique | Grayson, KY USA | 05/10/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Okay, so I'm aware that I'm the first reviewer to NOT give this album 5 stars. Let the poorly typed lashings begin.



The Devil Wears Prada has taken the music world by storm over these past few years. It's easy to see why a lot of listeners would find them so appealing. A slew of breakdowns, harsh and unpolished screaming mixed with cleans that would make Craig Owens sob, semi-predictable song structures and an amazingly engaging live show. Sounds to me like you've got all the workings to make all the girl-pants wearing, scene kid semi-hipsters salivate. That seems to be TDWPs' main weakness, though. They have all of the appeal, yet lack a certain amount of originality and artistic integrity. But I will tell you this...TDWP does what they do better than about 98% of the others. Now on to the album.



'With Roots Above...' opens with an amazing little slice of metal bliss. 'Sassafras' is possibly the most intense and immediately rewarding track on the album. Right from the beginning you feel the emotion that lead vocalist Mike Hranica is spewing with every word. Jeremy also has some of his best vocals from the album located on this song. There are some sick runs from bassist Andy Trick here, as well. Great track, through and through. But once you reach 'I hate Buffering' you begin to realize something very disappointing. Jeremy seems to have lost the majority of his power. On 'Dear Love' and 'Plagues' it seemed that every time he sang...there was a purpose. His voice soared. It was full of longing and emotion. Now, for the most part, it just seems forced and overly produced. The obvious exceptions though, would be 'Sassafras', 'Dez Moines' and 'Ben Has A Kid'.



Now that I have mentioned a flaw, it's time again for one of the good things about the album. James Baney seems to be working the synth into the songs way more fluently. Sure he did amazingly well in 'Dogscangrowbeardsallover' and 'Nickels Is Money, Too'...but aside from those tracks and a few places in a couple of others, he almost went un-noticed. He is actually the driving force of quite a few song on this release. Mainly the powerhouse of a track known as 'Gimme Half'. His contributions to 'Ben Has A Kid' are also very evident, and helped make it the highlight track of the entire album. I think it should be noted as well that the opening of 'Big Wiggly Style' is one of the coolest intros to a song I have ever heard. Too bad the rest of the song isn't as engaging. Oh well.



Now onto another complaint. A lot of people are saying that TDWP have 'grown tremendously' as artists with this new album. I would have to fully disagree with this statement. Since when is incorporating a 'verse-chorus-verse-chorus' song structure into half of the songs considered 'growth'? Sure 'Reptar...' had a chorus...but it was one of the weaker songs from 'Plagues' for that reason, if you ask me. Now I'm not saying that predictable song structures are BAD, by any means. And it works very well (again) for 'Ben Has A Kid', but flops like none other for songs like 'Danger: Wildman' and 'Wapakalypse', the two weakest songs from the album. It is nice to see a 'slow' song incorporated into the mix, though. 'Louder Than Thunder' is a nice little gem. Although it's nothing revolutionary, it's still quite enjoyable.



Another small annoyance was 'Lord Xenu'. It's not a BAD song, it's just the wrong choice for an album closer. TDWP have always crafted beautiful and powerful closing tracks. This one just seems under-thought and lacks a lot of power. Honestly I think that 'Assistant To The Regional Manager' (another big highlight) would have been an AMAZING ending track. But whatever. I'm sure the boys of TDWP had a reason for making "Lord Xenu' the ending song. It just doesn't work for me.



For my final thoughts, I would like to say that I'm still a fan of TDWP and their live shows will always make up for anything they do...I'm just not the BIGGEST fan of this particular release. They know what their die-hard fans want, though, and they have delivered just that. I know a lot of people will praise this album as TDWPs' best, simply because its lack of originality and for sticking to the same formula. Maybe if they would have left the roots below a little bit longer it would have grown a stronger album.

Eat it up. Because I know you will. No matter what I say."

Metalcore opinion

Kalido | USA | 06/20/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"If you like metalcore you might like this CD.



This CD tends to lean a little harder on the hardcore/post hardcore side of things.



First off, I want you to take notice of the vocals immediately. The way they were recording can be...harsh on your ears sometimes. Not for everyone but some people couldn't stand this album due to it. I think it just depends on what your listening to the CD/MP3 on.



Be aware of this.



Secondly, the vocals are obviously the loudest thing on the album. Recorded above instruments, drumming...you WILL hear those the most, sometimes this makes it harder to hear the instruments. Honestly, see for yourself though, check out the samples and if possible youtube a track or two.



Now there are breakdowns still so if your into that, there pretty well done in this cd.



The vocalist dropped the metal scream of "Plagues" were it was mostly used opposed to "beautiful discord." Instead he does exactly what you hear on the samples, the yell, a majority of the time. Also the growl will be here or there but never too frequently.



Its a shame to me because vocally i like this guy alot. He has excellent range and a really good low growl + a rare "bree" noise. I didn't enjoy his vocals at all on this CD, I think the recording is bad and I think some people are not going to like it at all.





For the most part, the lead vocalist dominates all the songs. This is great, I hate when backup singers assign themselves more parts then the lead. Why have a lead?! Anyway, there is a backup vocalist.



He comes in on most of the songs and generally sings the chorus lines. Nothing much to say about him, he always sounds pretty much the same as you hear him in the samples. He contributes to many 30% of all the vocals on these tracks. "Louder then Thunder" features him only so you can get a great idea of what you'll have to hear sampling that song.







Lastly...musically, the CD can feel like one long blur. It can be hard to find "Favorite tracks" sometimes because it all sounds the same. There are some unique bits, especially intros but here's what i suggest. Pick any FOUR songs from the above playlist and listen to them on youtube. You'll either understand my experience or you won't.



If you don't, by all means buy the CD.



If your new to this band they are faith based and write faith based lyrics. I suggest you check the lyrics in case you are not into this type of thing.





Don't get me wrong its an Alright CD I just didn't find it as memorable compared to their other titles. I strongly advice you sample at least FOUR songs on youtube in their entirety prior to purchasing this. its the only way you'll know for sure if the samples can't convince you this is may not be for you.







All in all it was just an Okay cd to me. Nothing stood out too much...but a few parts on songs like "sassafras" "Dez moines" and wakapakalyze did. Whether it was a breakdown an intro or a memorable ending...nothing really caught me like their prior releases. It only sometimes makes my rotations.





ENJOY!"

The Devil Wears Prada- With Roots Above And Branches Below [

Christian Rock OBSESSION | 08/22/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Last year on the Warped Tour, the Dayton, OH, Underoath/Still Remains influenced metal band, The Devil Wears Prada, caught many eyes and ears. This year they'll do it again, only this time with songs from their newest album, With Roots Above And Branches Below. They are sure to catch even more eyes and ears (as they did mine with their song "Hey John, What's Your Name Again?" from their last album) with this heavy new material.



The album explodes into existence through the song, "Sassafras", staying true to TDWP form. The keyboard in this song give it a more melodic feel than an average metal song, and Jeremy DePoyster's crystal-clear vocals near the end add to that feel. "I Hate Buffering", the album's next track, has a great lead guitar that keeps it heavy throughout the song's three minutes, and as with any song with Jeremy's vocals, it has that extra touch that gives it near perfection. Songs like "Dez Moines", "Danger: Wildman", and "Ben Has A Kid" display Jeremy's vocals more, while keeping the song hard. "Danger: Wildman" has a really sick guitar part in the song, but before the end the song it slows down shortly and there is a completely amazing violin piece, shortly followed by DePoyster declaring "All of love can be traced to a Maker". It's very refreshing to know a band can be unbelievably heavy and be rising in popularity and still acknowledge God in their music. The next song, "Ben Has A Kid", has the same kind of lyrics when they say "Beyond this world is worth dying for." "Louder Than Thunder" proved me wrong when I thought TDWP could never be soft. I was very wrong. "Louder Than Thunder" is not only the album's softest song, but there is zero screaming, and there is nothing hard about the song. The piano is very eerily beautiful and matches the lyrics very well. It's definitely a big difference for TDWP, let alone this album.



So, The Devil Wears Prada has done it again. It would be nice if they could maybe balance out the screaming and the singing a little bit more. Mike Hranica's powerful screaming and the addition of "Louder Than Thunder" proves that TDWP has matured a lot since their sophomore album. This will be a very successful year for them as they set out on the Warped Tour once again."