Live Review

The Devil Wears Prada – Electric Ballroom, London

• 29th Oct 2012

Another evening at the Electric Ballroom and an all American line up that London audiences were eager to attend, with a queue already forming hours before doors were set to open.

The Devil Wears Prada are a band from my youth and even though they’re not a band I’d set out to see, I was looking forward to seeing what this band could do with a UK audience. Following Chicago deathcore band Veil Of Maya, I was curious to see the kind of reaction the five piece would get.

Opening with an electronic synth melody, the crowd went crazy knowing the band were about to grace the stage with their presence. Lead vocalist, Mike Hranica, went straight into action and I really wish he hadn’t. Maybe it was an off night for the long-time member, but when vocals sound like bad indigestion I couldn’t help but understand why in the seven years of being band, they were still just a support act on this tour following the release of live album, ‘Dead and Alive’ (RoadRunner Records UK).

Guitarists Chris Rubeyand and Jeremy DePoyste were killing it. Brain melting riffs, combined with DePoyste’s incredibly clean vocals, I had high hopes to some degree for this performance. Daniel Williams shattered snares in a way most drummers should in a band like this and more and more, it became increasingly clear who was stealing this performance. Not forgetting the fantastic lighting and synth skills that should have come with a safety warning.

As a whole, The Devil Wears Prada was creating no relationship with this particular audience. It wasn’t until 20 minutes in that Hrancia spoke or even introduce songs, to the point that the crowd stopped getting involved. Out of confusion or just lack of interest, the band didn’t stop long enough to prevent half the set merging into one over extended track. There was a lot of stage movement yes, but this left this front man out of breath when making an attempt to scream and falling short.

I was left bored, uninterested and feeling that if it wasn’t for the mediocre vocals, this could have been an unforgettable performance.