The Devil Wears Prada’s new record, “Flowers”, is set for release on the 14th of November.

Flowers is a record that captures both their 20-year legacy and their relentless drive to evolve, and proves the band is one of metalcore’s most enduring and emotionally resonant voices. Flowers marks the start of an incredibly epic cycle for the band.

We luckily got the chance to listen to the album before its initial release, and here are our thoughts;

The album starts off strong with the first track, “That Same Place,” a minute-long instrumental, where a warped static tape with a woman’s voiceover is played, delivering profoundly powerful words of longing while chillingly emotive piano is played. Violin sounds come in, orchestral, alluring, and soft alongside the words spoken, a mixture of hope and happy endings is portrayed; ironically marking a new beginning for the band, it’s dark and hopeful all at the same time.

“Where the Flowers Never Grow” was previously released alongside a visually stunning music video and short film (with other segments of songs from the album meshed in, showing some of the album’s cleverly narrated musical journey). The song is upbeat with intensely chiming melodies, velvety layered vocals, and synthesized sounds; all delivered alongside emotive and consistently thought-provoking lyrics. So many musical layers are delivered with melodic and vocal depth. It has the perfect balance of being insanely catchy as well as utterly deep. The Devil Wears Prada are outdoing themselves consistently while staying true to their ever-changing but dedicated sound. The song becomes heavier with downwards muffled guitars playing that lead to the most unexpectedly screamed ending that gives us chills and reminds us how The Devil Wears Prada are always surprising us sonically.

“Everybody Knows” was recently released alongside a music video. The song starts off intrinsically sounding, before staccato and harshly delivered lyrics are given, profoundly echoed vocals are heard for choruses, emphasising feelings of sadness with intriguing cadences. The song becomes more fast-paced and upbeat with ad-libbed vocal screams and alternating instruments. The song is genre-defying with so many exclusive sounds that constantly push musical boundaries seemingly effortlessly while remaining prominent and meaningful. There are many twists and turns within the track, and at times it feels like the song is a remedy for sadness while it beautifully depicts mental health struggles and evokes feelings that lead to a sense of everything will be okay. “Everybody knows” feels like a song everyone can relate to.

“‘Everybody Knows’ is about feeling out of place- when your anxiety takes over and you can’t hide it anymore,” the band says. “It’s that moment when you realise everyone can see you’re not holding it together, but you don’t know how to escape it.”

“So Low” was also previously released alongside a music video. The song starts off with delicate tinkling notes that provoke strong vocals with layered adlibs in different tones to emphasize the ends of beautifully delivered musical sentences. Intent drumming opposes delicate sounds throughout, creating diverse melodies with crackling gravelly vocals, and becomes heavier with intensifying guitar riffs. The song is forever instrumentally fluctuating while remaining direct to the meaning behind the lyrics, with pauses for effect, leaving the listener never quite knowing what’s coming next, portraying life’s highs and lows while integrating new musical sounds.

“For You” was previously also released with a music video. Prominent isolated vocals deliver prophetic lyrics which are dream-like, while faded notes in the background with soft to begin drumming are musically focused on the right places. The song is unique and original-sounding but true to the band’s nature. It’s an ode to love that provokes feelings within the listener while lyrics are delivered consistently with additional emphasis on specific meanings. It is hopeful and intricate sounding, while screams are delivered high and strained, you can hear every emotion behind them. Perfectly played guitar riffs are electrifying while bass notes ignite a fuller sound. Towards the end, instruments are now all playing together in complete sync, with a combination of adversity and delivered with so much dedication. So many emotions are evoked while listening to this complex and ever-changing song.

“All Out” starts off riff-heavy and endearing with sliding scales that escalate to screams. This song is fast-paced and has profoundly chaotic sounds throughout. Intense drumming and electrified melodies, with so many layers of depth, lead to voice-overs and dreamily sung choruses. Multiple instruments are delivered opposingly, igniting our senses until we’re pulled back into staccato-sounding guitar and drumming. Vocals fluctuate between velvetised to belted in screams of passion and depth, a balance of everything all at once, and intently clever. Echoed and hauntingly sang melodies provoke emotions, while riffs take over the next second and make us want to mosh again. The song takes us through a huge range of feelings and emotions while listening.

“Ritual” was the first song released from the album alongside a music video and gave us some insight into the ever-evolving sounds for this next phase of The Devil Wears Prada. Layers of high-frequency and insanely catchy melodies are played while vocals that have the ability to grasp your emotions immediately come in. Warped surround sounds lead to layered screaming that has so much depth; all vocals and all instruments are consistently complementing each other in a uniquely countering way in this ever-fluctuating sonic masterpiece. The song is unique, hard-hitting, engaging, and sounds magically out of this world.

“When You’re Gone” starts off delicate and inviting. Alluring sounds lead into guitars played sharply with words sang melodiously, while the instrumental remains prominent and intrinsic. High-pitched guitar frequencies warp us into a different state, while emotive singing and screaming in layers are wholeheartedly dedicated to the song’s overall sound. It fluctuates seamlessly from full throttle to purposefully disconnected, with echoing sounds that brace us for melodies that grip our souls. Warped, menacing sounds draw us into the next part of the song, where uniquely isolated spoken vocals are delivered with powerful emotions behind them, turning into intense screaming. Musical chiming leads us into the bridge and final choruses. This song highlights the band’s unique talents and how they excel at merging them together to create their overall sound in complete elemental synchronicity with surprises along the way.

“The Sky Behind The Rain” starts off with a piano playing chords, we can hear the sounds of knocking on an unanswered door, and a voice-over of a female with care and hesitation behind her voice. The beat is unique and highlighted by an intricate and soft melody, becoming progressively more hopeful and upbeat-sounding.

“The Silence” starts off vocally prominent while backed up by synthesized sounds; the melodies are played uniquely as the song becomes staccato on a softened drum beat, leading to opposing lyrical styles that are sharp but gently and lovingly delivered, like nothing we’ve heard before. This song is experimental yet significant to the album’s sound. The intently screamed vocal adlibs offer so much versatility and layers to the song’s depth while being executed to perfection. Melodies become more frequent, and layers of sliding scales with synthesized notes become more urgently played. More elements of sonic surprises are delivered throughout this song, with the catchiest melodies alongside unique frequencies and warped-sounding lyrics around safety within destruction. The Devil Wears Prada has pushed their creative boundaries again with this song.

“Eyes” starts off with warped organ-like synthesized sounds matched with original sounding beats, lyrics kick in, and we’re reminded that each song on this album is unlike anything we’ve heard before. Choruses are seemingly created to get instantly stuck in your head with their catchy sounds. Verses are intensified, spoken, sang, and gravelly screamed all at the same time. Ferociously delivered lyrics lead to faded out sounds with softened female backing vocals that are choirlike, childlike, and haunting, which lead to perfectly delivered guttural screams with so much power before them. Fast-paced melodies become opposing, the drum beat quickens, and the song ends intensely. A beautiful, fully relatable, and ever-changing offering that’s meaningful and poetic.

“Cure Me” is such a beautiful song. Velvetised vocals are delivered, drum beats accentuate and emphasise emotive lyrics, while the overall sound is perfectly synchronized. They show exceptionally talented harmonizing skills, and it’s clear while listening to this track that they’ve been a band for twenty years. Super powerful and catchy instrumentals are rhythmically pleasing in so many ways; they draw you in and make you take in all the sounds in at once. The lyrics are so clever, while high-pitched guitar riffs lead to emotive bridges that lead us into tinkling piano playing and fading out music, all vocals become unified, strong, and determined-sounding.

“Wave” is a song that flows through you. It’s mellow and layered, with deep lyrics, profusely thought-provoking, and draws feelings out of you. It expresses uniquely through the music about riding the waves of life, and it is such a stunning song. It shows how well the band can portray emotions musically and create visceral reactions for their listeners. The song leaves us on a cliffhanger of lyrics and is so cleverly done.

“My Paradise” starts off with a unique voice-over. The song is rhythmically different from the rest. It’s not long before harmonised vocals come in, which lead to powerful lyrics that are delivered alongside clever instrumentation. Gutteral emotive vocals are screamed, raw and tangled into melodies, with smoother choruses sounding out to ground us. It’s a completely original song, with hidden meanings and so much emotion portrayed throughout.

“Flowers” is an absolutely incredible album that I feel will shape the metalcore industry for a long time to come. I feel that fans will absolutely cherish this album, and each song will mean a lot to the listeners.

Some songs are so beautiful it’s hard to put them into words; they make you feel an unexplainable sense of knowing and belonging. The Devil Wears Prada has such a unique way of expressing emotions through their music; you can feel every word and truly hold their music close to your heart.

The Devil Wears Prada’s music remains significant and meaningful while they’re constantly reinventing themselves, for the better.