September 15, 2022 at PDT
Color Decay
Degradation and disappointment are the themes that permeate the eighth album from metalcore stars The Devil Wears Prada. “There’s certainly many notions of letdown throughout the record,” vocalist Mike Hranica tells Apple Music. “I thought the visual of something losing its color was apt for this collection of songs.” As it turns out, Hranica and TDWP keyboardist/co-lyricist Jonathan Gering drew from the singer’s recent personal life to write the lyrics. “I went through the breakup of a long-term relationship last year, and it was a situation where I needed to get out,” Hranica explains. “But there’s that feeling of defeatism because you’ve done everything you can, and there’s nothing else you can do.”
Musically, TDWP continue to expand the parameters of their genre, as heard on the electronics-and-synth-fueled singles “Salt,” “Watchtower,” and “Time.” “We’re not a metalcore band trying to not be a metalcore band or write a not metalcore record,” Hranica says. “We’re trying to bring as many elements into metalcore as possible and push it out from there via the vehicle that is Prada.” Below, he comments on each track.
“Exhibition”
“The idea I wanted for the lyrics was basically just the over-capitalism and over-consumption of everything. The way I’ve explained it is basically the metalcore version of ‘Bleed American’ [by Jimmy Eat World]. We are selling a product here, so I understand we’re involved in consumption and capitalism as well. But that was the kind of vibe that I went with lyrically.”
“Salt”
“Most of the song is Jon’s, but really it just plays to defeatism and basically the kind of surrender of being so fed up with something and just battling it or getting beat up and then eventually just giving into it.”
“Watchtower”
“We came up with this one pretty early in the process. The idea of ‘Watchtower’ is basically needing help but not seeking it—and pushing away all that’s good. And instead of participating in something, or a relationship, you hide yourself from it and make the wrong sort of choices.”
“Noise”
“The idea of ‘Noise’ is basically the striving for success, or maybe striving for popularity, or to see a goal through. But it’s also about the anxiety that comes with the vulnerability of putting yourself out there, and just all of life’s complications. Or really, I think, when it comes to doing much of anything, especially in the creative world.”
“Broken”
“This one was Jon’s as well. Not to get too much into his business, but basically years and years ago, when he first started touring with us, his 21st birthday was just a big shit-show night. There was a lot of alcohol, and he experienced a panic attack with that. But it was just a bit of a carried-away rager that night—of throwing bottles and shattering glass and whatnot—while also in the midst of serious anxiety. I think it was just something that stuck with him.”
“Sacrifice”
“Lyrically, this is the same as ‘Salt’ in terms of defeatism or giving in. Jon wrote most of the verses and the chorus, and I just peppered in here and there on the verses and the bridge. What’s funny about the song is that the breakdown at the end has gone off really well live, but I think Jon created it almost as a joke. It’s the most obnoxious, obvious breakdown you could have, but it’s actually been amazing. It’s a really fun song to play live too.”
“Trapped”
“This has my favorite chorus that Prada has ever put out there. Obviously, a lot of the album comes across as being the victim. But in this song, the idea I played into was getting over the honeymoon phase of a relationship, when things are starting to get more real, and the mental health qualms that we all face and whatnot, and basically just trying to be there for someone that’s having a bad sort of attack.”
“Time”
“This one plays to the elasticity of time—how fast it can move, and then, of course, how slow it can move. I can remember the years from ’05 through 2011, 2012, in terms of what tours we were doing and where I was living—what my life looked like. From there, it’s totally blurred. I can’t tell you the last year we did Warped Tour, what year we did a certain record, or anything like that. Even in a smaller situation, there are weeks where the days fly by and then weeks where the days feel like they’re 100 hours long.”
“Twenty-Five”
“When I heard the music for this, I felt like it was obvious that it was my kind of breakup song. I had a number of them back on Dead Throne, one of our earlier records. The other guys quite like this one, but it’s a song I never wish to hear again. With a song like ‘Broken,’ there could be some kind of release or getting something off your chest. But for me, there’s never been a song closer to me or harder for me to get through. I hope to god I never have to play it live for an entire tour.”
“Fire”
“This came out of an instrumental that Jon and [guitarist] Jeremy [DePoyster] have been playing for quite a while. I think Jon came up with most of the lyrics. There’s a lot of different pop elements that he implied, and it definitely speaks to his taste and range as a musician. We’ve had slower, jammier tunes like ‘Fire’ throughout our career, but I think this one is more of a standout.”
“Hallucinate”
“I was reading a book called The Morning Star by Karl Knausgaard. The premise is a number of different characters’ perspectives and viewpoints on the same event. One of the characters is a nurse, and she’s dealing with a patient that has a brain tumor. When the tumor expands, it presses against the brain and causes hallucinations. The music was an instrumental left over from ZII, our last EP. It felt very industrial, and it seemed to fit with lyrics about a victim of these terrible hallucinations.”
“Cancer”
“Jon wrote the chorus when a hero of his passed away. When he heard that he had died, Jon’s initial reaction was that he hoped it was cancer, rather than something like suicide or an overdose. Then, upon that realization, he thought, ‘How could you think such a thing? Why was that my immediate reaction?’ Hoping for cancer is the most horrible thing you could hope for, really. But it speaks to the notion of degradation, the idea of Color Decay. The chorus is asking, ‘What does my reaction say about myself?’ For most of us, it’s our favorite song on the album.”
12 Tracks
