The Devil Wears Prada

Forget everything you knew about The Devil Wears Prada.

The technically proficient, guitar-driven American metal that you'll hear on the band's fourth studio album, Dead Throne, is bigger and more balanced than what was contended with on 2009's breakthrough offering, With Roots Above and Branches Below, and 2010's Zombie EP.

Dead Throne signals a more evolved, more progressive The Devil Wears Prada that is not only larger sonically, but goes much deeper, lyrically. The album contains more than a dozen cutting-edge, razor-sharp, straight-ahead metal tracks that are utterly brilliant not only in their composition, but also in their flawless delivery.

"The songs are inspired by a lot of the things in my heart, per usual," explains frontman Mike Hranica. "A lot of the subject matter was very specific for this record, which is something that has evolved for me. I'd call the album very 'lyrically intentional.'" Dead Throne was expertly produced by Killswitch Engage mad genius Adam Dutkiewicz at his Massachusetts-based recording studio -- a collaboration born out of a mutual admiration first realized in early 2010, when The Devil Wears Prada supported Killswitch Engage on tour.

"We got along with Adam very well and he dropped some hints about how he was interested in working with The Devil Wears Prada," Hranica said. "Like any heavy band, clearly we've always been curious about working with the dude, so when he was so cool with us, it really felt natural and right. His impact as far as sound and engineering is purely his ability to capture the rawness of our band and reduce the sterility of it; something I've wanted for a very long time. I couldn't be happier with Adam's influence and I think it works really, really well for us."

Rounded out by guitarist and clean vocalist Jeremy DePoyster, guitarist Chris Rubey, bassist Andy Trick, keyboardist James Baney, and drummer Daniel Williams, The Devil Wears Prada wrote all of the songs that appear on Dead Throne before heading into the studio with Dutkiewicz, a man the band trusts and respects.

"Adam did have an impact as far as structure and pulling things out and reorganizing. He sped up a number of the songs, cut measures in half, and generally trimmed fat," Rubey offered. "Usually, this would be something that we wouldn't be into coming from a producer, but with Adam it totally worked for the best," he added.

With Dead Throne, The Devil Wears Prada has turned a corner, by turning up the aggression and turning on the emotions. Dead Throne is the product of hard work and The Devil Wears Prada's inevitable musical evolution, which tends to focus more on the band's unique, punishing dual-vocal assault this time around.

"We aim to give listeners and fans something they can enjoy, but we'll also always make songs we personally stand behind," says Hranica. "We'd write differently if we were purely trying to sell albums: that's just not how it works for us. No compromises." Dead Throne finally takes hold of what the band has merely hinted at in the past, and fans both old and new will quickly see this album for what it is -- a brilliant, emotional, captivating and brutal journey brought forth from the heart of a band that won't conform to the latest trends. Ultimately, Dead Throne tackles issues of failed relationships and perseverance of faith.

"The album has a number of love lost songs," says Hranica. "It's a poetic topic I've always touched upon in the songs, and exaggerated, but this time around it was a little bit different as far as where it was coming from. My biggest lyrical models for the album are also very 'love lost'-generated writers, which have an influence on me. The record contains a lot of self-loathing and a lot of bitterness, which all has a spin on it to where the only thing that does not pass in our lives is our faith and our trust in God. Dead Throne takes a bitter perspective: the world is dead and the only thing we have is the Lord."

And as for the world, the The Devil Wears Prada have already set their sights on breaking territories around the world the same way they established their loyal following in the States, through non-stop touring. The band toured Europe multiple times in 2011, with the last run ending at the UK's premier rock event, Download Festival with a main stage performance. 2011 and 2012 will see The Devil Wears Prada touring throughout America, Europe, Australia and South America, among other territories.