Aman Kanungo

INTRO Breaking into the industry with 2017’s The Love You Let Too Close, Thousand Below quickly became a personal favorite of mine. Their Sophomore album, Gone In Your Wake, shifts from the band’s traditional formula in favor of something a bit more mainstream, but without the cost of a drastic genre change. PROS The album kicks off with promising tracks “Chemical” and “Disassociate”. Which, while, not quite the tone setters of the album, still feel true to the band’s original sound. This leads into “Fake Smile”, a more Rock oriented track with airy guitars and moody vocals; the first example of the bands sound change, yet, one of my favorites because of its general execution and balance of heavier and softer sounds. It’s the first track that showcases Deberg’s clean vocal development. “Vanish” and “171 xo” follow in the same footsteps with again, more focus on cleans, almost fully absent of screams yet still satisfying. CONS While the album plays on similar themes present in their debut album, there’s a clear lack of instrumental complexity. The guitars and drums both feel simplified leaning more towards Pop than Post-Hardcore. This is heavily present on tracks “Alone (Out Of My Head)”, “The Edge Of Your Bed” and “Learn To Loose And It All gets Easier”. Additionally, “Lost Between” featuring Marcus Bridge of Northlane had the potential to blow everything out of the water with both band vocalists screaming in harmony at the bridge of the track. That thought is simply left as such opting for a full clean vocal display; another underwhelming track, but groovy, nonetheless. CONCLUSION Thousand Below has taken a softer approach with Gone In Your Wake; a great chance to show Debergs’s reach as a clean vocalist. While it’s a bit of a letdown from an instrumental standpoint, there are still memorable tunes present to please longtime fans and welcome newcomers. THOUSAND BELOW: GONE IN YOUR WAKE- “Pastime Tunes.” (80/100)

INTRO For a while now, things have been quiet from the Ohio 4-piece Metalcore band. Setting their eyes on a new direction with Solid State Records, the band breaks ground and challenges the norms of the genre with The Act. PROS The album blasts off with true Prada formula fueling “Switchblade”, a track that’s sure to explode at venues and please longtime fans with its complex riffage and visceral vocals. “Chemical” and “Wave of Youth” provide slightly softer yet atmospheric tones to even out the album with DePoyster’s vocals. For fans of a more balanced composition, “Line of Your hands” and “Numb” do the trick. The album closes off with “Spiderhead” which like the intro, is Prada’s true formula on display reminiscent of their Dead Throne and 8:18 days (not to mention the breathtaking breakdown). By the time I finished the album, it was clear there was a strong influence from past works, but there’s a stronger sound transition than the 2013-2016 era in the most creative way possible. CONS While I’m open to the band pushing away from the generic layout of the songs, the departure from the standard compositions feels too far out. There’s a stronger balance of screams to cleans, but at the cost of the general instrumental flow feeling a bit off. This issue is present mostly in tracks “The Thread”, “Diamond Lost” and ‘As Kids”. CONCLUSION The Devil Wears Prada is one of the few bands that’s aged well over the years while staying true to their original sound accompanied by new, more ambitious styles with each release. Despite some general compositional issues, The Act pushes boundaries once again with a proper atmospheric blend of heavy to soft tones and then some. THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: THE ACT- “Ambitious New Metal.” (86/100)