If you came here looking for a review of an Anne Hathaway movie, you will be either disappointed or confused. Possibly both. THIS "The Devil Wears Prada" is a somewhat recently discovered metalcore band. And they just released their second national album, entitled Plagues.

At the very beginning of the album, the vocal work seems to be a little sloppy, but that doesn't last too long. The vocals are well done throughout the rest of the album, and they range anywhere from high-pitched shrieking to deep growling, and even to melodic harmonies. Influences in the vocals and music are apparent from metalcore, life metal, and even a hint of emo. And one thing noticeable about the songs as you listen to them is that none of them follow the traditional verse-chorus-verse structure. The band just have the words they want to get across, and they vocalize them - plain and simple. Another thing to note is that the song titles are catchy, interesting, and sometimes funny ("You Can't Spell Crap Without C," "This Song Is Called," and "Nickels Is Money Too").

One of the topics discussed on Plagues is the futility of living life on your own without God. For instance, in "HTML Rulez, D00d," when lead vocalist Mike Hranica says "For the longest time I've been watching the world breathe against spiderwebs, what lies here are mountains composed of tombstones." It's also mentioned in "Hey John, What's Your Name Again?" when the vocals take it easy for a couple seconds to catch up on some melody for the line, "Well it must be difficult being so gorgeous, it must be difficult claiming to be the kings and queens, but it's all of nothing." The occasional nod towards self-loathing is made, like here in "Reptar, King of the Ozone," "What if the clouds are fragments of mistakes, fabricated by the factories of our foolishness? We're composing our funeral songs note by note." Seldomly does a song elude directly to God, but Mike's passion for souls to meet Jesus is apparent in "Number Three, Never Forget," "Come back to your faith, come back to grace, He loved us and sang with others."

Through the chaos of the music and the angst- and passion-ridden vocals, the hardcore fan will find an album that was well worth their time, and an album they will want to listen to again and again. Fans of Norma Jean and As I Lay Dying will surely love The Devil Wears Prada's Plagues.

- Review date: 8/28/07, written by Scott Fryberger