It has only been recently that I’ve jumped on the wagon of support for this up-and-coming US Christian six-piece, but the journey for me from thereon has been superb. It’s astonishing that the The Devil Wears Prada has been able to master their genre in such a short period of time and at such a young age. The performance they showcased on this chilly Saturday evening was just another reflection of their musical talent. Combining metalcore with hardcore they’ve also managed to spice things up a little with a sprinkle of keyboard and synthesiser, which not many can successfully pull off. It seems there is just nothing holding them back from becoming one of the biggest acts in the metal scene.
Let me introduce the first support act – House Vs. Hurricane. After their victory in this years FATE Battle Of The Bands competition, these Melbournians may also have the potential in becoming a large part of this underestimated metalcore/hardcore genre. With clean and crisp lead vocals from Chris Dicker and consistent crowd interaction from keyboardist Joey Fragione they confidently performed most of the tracks from their ‘08 release El Shaddai.
Following HVH at around 9.30pm was The Seduction. These guys weren’t really my cup of tea and lacked the variation of the night’s other performers. To me they sounded like many other generic hardcore metal bands that are circulating and trying to break the barrier of fame. Betrayed is their latest album for Trial And Error records and is set to be released shortly, so get on board if you’re a fan.
Running twenty minutes ahead of schedule, The Devil Wears Prada was ready and set to go by 10:30pm. With all guns blazing, they stormed out onto The Evelyn’s confined corner stage with Hey Johnny, What’s Your Name. As modest as the crowd may have been, the lads certainly had some support behind them and fans weren’t shy in getting close to the stage and the band members. Swords Dragons And Diet Coke encouraged lead vocalist Mike Hranica to let loose and indulge in some interesting facial expressions. Keyboardist James Baney positioned himself on his synth stand, banging his head with lunacy and going off like a frog in a sock. The punters on the floor were getting in on a slice of the action opening the pit up, especially when Scorpion Deathlock and Nickels Is Money blasted out.
At the beginning of This of This Song Is Called, Hranica’s mic died but thankfully it was soon revived by some crafty experience behind the sound board. Don’t Drink And Dance was the highlight of the night, causing fury on the floor. After taking a brief pause to sincerely show their gratitude to the support acts and comment on their Chrisitan faith, HTML Rulez d00d kicked in, encouraging Hranica to hang from the ceiling rafter upside down, attempting to assist young gun Daniel Williams bash away at his drum kit. After a twenty second encore and little sign of slowing down their stage movement, they boys threw in an older track, Dogs Can Grow Beards All Over, to close their 40 minute set.
In summary, the sound wasn’t too bad, but the lighting may need dramatic improvement. I guess you can’t expect anything too technical at this type of venue thaough a little extra cash to splash around wouldn’t hurt. I also had the pleasure of briefly meeting Prada keyboard player Baney at the end of the night and he was nice-as-pie; there’s a bright future ahead for these lads and it couldn’t happen to a better bunch of musos.
