The Devil Wears Prada have always explored life’s extremes in their music. They’ve never shied away from staring down darkness, dealing with depression, making sense of confusion, soothing anxiety, or grappling with faith, existence, and death. At the same time, they’ve mirrored life’s ups and downs by alternating between crushing heaviness and heart-wrenching melodies. After over two decades of making music, their union as bandmates—but more importantly as friends—is stronger than ever. All of this time and experience ultimately empowered the group—Mike Hranica [vocals], Jeremy DePoyster [guitar, vocals], Kyle Sipress [guitar], Jonathan Gering [keys, synths, programming, percussion], and Giuseppe Capolupo [drums]—to make a statement on their ninth full-length offering, Flowers [Solid State]. Matching bold themes with equally bold songs, they process grief, weather struggle, and not only heal together, but creatively blossom like never before.
However, they still never stop asking questions and simultaneously pushing heavy music forward. “Music has provided so much for us,” Mike declares. “However, we wake up and wonder what it all means like a lot of people do. We’ve lived a less than typical life, and it lends itself to this line of questioning.” “The album is a story of trying to understand why you still deal with darkness and demons even after you’ve gotten everything you thought you wanted,” Jeremy elaborates. “Those things don’t make you happy though, so you’re journeying forward. Eventually, you settle into this quest we’re all on. The record isn’t an answer for what to do. We just said these feelings out loud, so maybe your emotions are validated as a listener.”
The Devil Wears Prada have always been there for audiences. Among a string of seminal releases, Revolver readers named With Roots Above and Branches Below [2009] one of the “5 Greatest Metalcore Albums,” the Zombie EP [2010] and Dead Throne [2011] each debuted in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200, and 2021’s ZII marked their sixth straight Top 5 entry on the Billboard Top Hard Rock Albums Chart. They have also tallied nearly a half-a-billion streams—unprecedented for most acts this heavy. The group elevated to another stratosphere with Color Decay [2022], selling out their biggest shows worldwide and receiving some of the highest praise of their career. Beyond acclaim from New Noise Magazine, KERRANG!, OUTBURN, Loudwire, and Hysteria, Metal Hammer went as far as to rave, “Color Decay might just be their finest hour.”
During 2024, the musicians decamped to a VRBO in Rodgers, AR for three weeks where they constructed the foundation for the LP with Jon again at the helm as producer. Following their time “in this heavenly corner of Arkansas,” Jon, Jeremy, and Mike took a handful of trips to Los Angeles. Putting the finishing touches on recording, the guys collaborated with Tyler Smyth [I Prevail, Falling In Reverse], Austin Coupe [Lø Spirit, Moodring], Colin Brittain [Linkin Park, Papa Roach], Fit For A King’s Bobby Lynge, and Marshall Gallagher of Teenage Wrist. They also enlisted Color Decay collaborator Sam Guaiana as an engineer and tapped Zakk Cervini [Bring Me The Horizon, Spiritbox] for mixing and mastering.
20 years deep into their career together, their creativity has surged to life on Flowers though, representing perhaps their most significant creative leap forward yet. Fans immediately reacted too as The Devil Wears Prada heralded the album with “Ritual” and “For You,” reeling in tens of millions of streams and stoking anticipation. They properly introduce Flowers with the dual-single “Where The Flowers Never Grow” and “Wave.” The former’s bright keyboard melody blossoms out of a frenetic beat, while a thick riff buzzes underneath the bridge. Illuminated by a flurry of flickering keys and guitar, raw emotion spills from the irresistible refrain, “I fall back to what I know, that same place where the flowers never grow.” They’re using “happy” sounds to pacify pain. “The ‘place where the flowers never grow’ is an analogy for where you go when you’re alone,” reveals Jeremy. “For us, it could be sitting still alone and wondering why we can’t find happiness. You’ve got to find peace in the mediocrity instead of striving for it externally.”
As “Wave” ebbs and flows, ethereal guitar accompanies a gentle vocal accented by sparse keys. Breathy delivery carries the open-hearted hook over soft strings. Mike says, “We like to map out our lives, but you’ve got to be able to relinquish control.” It serves as a reminder to let life lead you where it will. “I try to be positive and think, ‘Ride the wave, man,’,” smiles Jeremy. “I believe there’s a true path you’re supposed to be on. If you fight against, it can be hard.” Pulsating keys give way to an upbeat drum gallop on “So Low.” This forward motion breaks on a plea, “I wish that somebody could tell me why the highs feel so low. I only feel alive when I lose control.” It recognizes a toxic personality trait, wrestling with the need for attention.
“To me, ‘So Low’ is almost fighting the mundane, setting it all on fire, and blowing it up to get a reaction,” notes Mike.
Ominous bass rumbles straight through “Everybody Knows” until a clean electric guitar uplifts another chant, “I can’t get back. Gotta find another path. Maybe this will finally take home.” “It’s sort of a continuation of ‘Chemical’,” Jeremy reveals. “You’ve had too many drinks. You try keeping it together, but your anxiety is making you feel like everybody knows you’re out of control.” The airy hum of “Eyes” instantly transfixes as the verses wrestle with existential questions. The tension overflows through a scream, “Give me eyes.” “For Jeremy and me, ‘Eyes’ removes the veil of what we personally believe and religion,” Mike states. “I was raised in a very ordinary Christian home, but we aren’t a Christian band. We’re speaking on the concept.” Then, there’s “All Out.” Laser-precise riffing thrashes and burns, tumbling beneath the undertow of the breakdown at full speed. Unpredictable rhythms track the manic jumps from melodic vocals to guttural growls. “Lyrically, it’s about seeing a friend choose selfishness over the relationship,” Mike comments. “It’s got a bit of the past and the present, musically.”
Flowers is The Devil Wears Prada at their most honest, heartfelt, and here in the moment. “We’re no different than you are,” Jeremy reminds. “We’re all in this together, and we’re all going to get through it together.” “The fact we’re still here after twenty years is amazing,” marvels Mike. “Once the record’s over, you sort of accept this is where we are, this is where we landed, and this is where we’re meant to be.”
