Review Summary: Two steps forward, one-and-three-quarters steps back...
Zombie n. 1. A will-less being capable only of automatic movement.
2. A human said to resemble the walking dead.
Zombies are a horrifying concept. They are practically the embodiment of death, and in the rising hordes of breakdown-heavy metalcore bands out there, it was only a matter of time before one of them would incorporate zombies in their music. Well, here we are with The Devil Wears Prada's fifth studio release,
Zombie: a whole EP dedicated to fighting off wave after wave of everyone's favorite brain-eating cannibals.
And at first listen, it appears as though TDWP came prepared.
Anatomy,
Escape, and
Revive are fully equipped with more breakdowns and faster tempos than the band has ever played. To make room for this increased heaviness, Jeremy DePoyster's clean-vocal segments are shorter and--with the exception of the outros in
Revive,
Outnumbered, and
Survivor--James Barney's keyboard/synthesizer moments are far more scarce. Oh, and somewhere during the writing process, the band must have decided that goofy and/or long song titles weigh you down when outrunning zombies. Or they realized that naming a song "Hey John, Reptar Can Grow Beards All Over the Ozone, d00d" is bat*** stupid. Either way, the threat of a zombie apocalypse forced TDWP to tweak their gameplan and FINALLY up the quality of their music.
...Right? So they've got heavier breakdowns, faster beats and way more screaming: does this mark an actual improvement? Unfortunately...no. The guitarists STILL refuse to display any talent they might possess, even during the fast parts. Barney's keyboard/synth is STILL underutilized, which is a shame because he offers so much untapped potential for this band. Jeremy's clean vocals are STILL whiny and overproduced. Thankfully, we hear less of them. However, this means we hear more of Mike Hranica's screams, which STILL have only two varieties: overly shrill highs and lows so incoherent they rival bear growls. Last, each song is STILL filled with predictable, forgettable breakdowns around every corner. Except for effectively pulling off fast tempos and giving their songs relevant titles,
Zombie shows no significant improvement whatsoever in The Devil Wears Prada.
That being said,
Zombie shows no sign of TDWP getting any worse, either. It's just another mediocre release from metalcore's most consistently mediocre band. Fans will still love it, especially if they favored
With Roots Above and Branches Below. Everyone else will wonder why this band prefers re-hashing metal cliches over making improvements. But, that's what
Zombie leaves us: a mindless band incapable of true progress, skulking the same territory over and over again like some kind of walking dead. They couldn't have picked a better title.
