''Plagues'' is the second studio album by American

metalcore Metalcore is a broadly defined fusion genre combining elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk, originating in the 1990s United States and becoming popular in the 2000s. Metalcore typically has aggressive verses and melodic choruses, combined ...

band The Devil Wears Prada. It was released on August 21, 2007, through

Rise Records Rise Records is an American record label currently based in Beaverton, Oregon, mainly focusing on alternative rock, heavy metal, and punk rock music artists. History Rise was founded in 1991 by Craig Ericson in Nevada City, California. He relea ...

and was re-released on October 28, 2008, with bonus content.

Background and recording

The recording sessions for ''Plagues'' began during winter of 2006 after

Joey Sturgis Joey Sturgis (born January 3, 1985) is an American record producer and owner of The Foundation Recording Studio in Connersville, Indiana. Sturgis started recording in 2004 including producing the Asking Alexandria single "The Final Episode" whic ...

was selected to produce the album. The album's title is a reference to the plagues mentioned in the

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation, also known as the Book of the Apocalypse or the Apocalypse of John, is the final book of the New Testament, and therefore the final book of the Bible#Christian Bible, Christian Bible. Written in Greek language, Greek, ...

. Lead vocalist Mike Hranica considered it to be "very visually appealing", although not as important as the meaning placed behind it. The recording was completed in spring 2007 and the album was released on August 21, 2007. ''Plagues'' was re-released on October 28, 2008. The bonus content for the re-release includes an alternative cover, booklet art and a DVD which has footage of The Devil Wears Prada playing at Ultimatour and

Warped Tour The Warped Tour is a Concert tour, touring Rock music, rock music festival that toured the United States and Canada each summer from 1995 until 2019, and returned in 2025 for its 30th anniversary. By 2015, Warped was the largest traveling music ...

in 2008. It also includes the music videos for "Hey John, What's Your Name Again?" and "HTML Rulez D00d". Some of the pre-ordered versions of ''Plagues'' included a darker booklet that was signed by all the band members and a white disc, as opposed to the standard version which has a black disc and a lighter booklet. The song "Hey John, What's Your Name Again?" is available as downloadable content for the ''

Rock Band ''Rock Band'' is a series of rhythm games first released in 2007 and developed by Harmonix. Based on their previous development work from the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series, the main ''Rock Band'' games have players use game controllers mod ...

'' series of video games. The song "HTML Rulez D00d" is also available as downloadable content only for ''

Rock Band 2 ''Rock Band 2'' is a 2008 rhythm game developed by Harmonix, published by MTV Games, and distributed by Electronic Arts. It is the sequel to ''Rock Band (video game), Rock Band'' (2007) and the second installment in the Rock Band, ''Rock Band ' ...

'' and ''

Rock Band 3 ''Rock Band 3'' is a 2010 rhythm game developed by Harmonix. The game was initially published and distributed by MTV Games and Electronic Arts, respectively, on October 26, 2010. Mad Catz took over both roles and re-released the title on Novembe ...

'' via the

Rock Band Network The ''Rock Band'' Network (abbreviated RBN) was a downloadable content service designed by Harmonix with the help of Microsoft to allow musical artists and record labels to make their music available as playable tracks for the ''Rock Band'' seri ...

Composition

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly The Mining Company, About.com and Dotdash) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, hom ...

referred to the album as incorporating "the usual metalcore style and constant breakdowns with synths and some rock elements that add a little twist to The Devil Wears Prada's sound."

Critical reception

The album has received mostly positive reviews since its release. Scott Fryberger of Jesus Freak Hideout said the song titles were "catchy, interesting, and sometimes funny" and praised the religious lyrics in "HTML Rulez D00d" and "Hey John, What's Your Name Again?" while also highlighting the self-loathing of "Reptar, King of the Ozone." Fryberger concluded his review by stating "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." A more mixed review came from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

's Eduardo Rivadavia, who criticized the album's off-topic song titles. Rivadavia compared the album to the band's debut, stating "the youthful sextet shifted a respectable amount of units with their first CD, 2006's ''Dear Love: A Beautiful Discord'', and therefore saw no reason to tarry, nor alter their spastic screamo/metalcore formula while recording

heir Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offi ...

sophomore outing" and "as a result, typical new offerings like 'Number Three, Never Forget' and 'Hey John, What's Your Name Again?' jostle the usual conflicting tendencies toward downtuned brutality and soaring harmonies, topped with alternately growled or clean-sung vocals to match each occasion -- but attempt nothing that TDWP influences like Norma Jean,

Haste the Day Haste the Day is an American metalcore band formed in Carmel, Indiana in 2001 and signed to Solid State Records. Their name is derived from a lyric in the hymn "It Is Well with My Soul" by Horatio Spafford. The band released an EP titled '' T ...

, and the similarly synthesizer-addled

Still Remains Still Remains is an American metalcore band from Grand Rapids, Michigan. They formed out of previous local bands Shades of Amber and Unition. They released three studio albums, '' Of Love and Lunacy'', '' The Serpent'' and ''Ceasing to Breathe' ...

haven't already explored more extensively and effectively." Sputnikmusic criticised the album's heavy sections and Hrancia's vocals but praised the more melodic sections of the album, namely the keys.

Commercial performance

''Plagues'' peaked at #57 on the ''Billboard'' 200 on September 8, 2007. The album has been a great success since its original release, selling 30,000 more copies than their first album, '' Dear Love: A Beautiful Discord.''Plagues'' at Interpunk.com
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Track listing

Personnel

;The Devil Wears Prada *Mike Hranica – unclean vocals *Jeremy DePoyster – rhythm guitar, clean vocals *Chris Rubey – lead guitar *Andy Trick – bass guitar *James Baney – keyboard, piano *Daniel Williams – drums ;Production *

–

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

, mixing, mastering and

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stat ...

*Chris Rubey – layout and

design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...

*Dan Mumford – layout and design (re-release cover) *Eric Rushing –

management Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a Government agency, government bodies through business administration, Nonprofit studies, nonprofit management, or the political s ...

;Additional musicians *

Craig Owens Craig Owens (born August 26, 1984) is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist of Chiodos. He has also had an involvement in various projects such as Cinematic Sunrise, The Sound of Animals Fighting, Isles & Glaciers, and Destroy ...

Chiodos Chiodos (, ) is an American post-hardcore band from Davison, Michigan. Formed in 2001, the group was originally known as "The Chiodos Bros," the band's name was a tribute to filmmakers Stephen, Charles, and Edward Chiodo, responsible for the f ...

*Cole Wallace of

Gwen Stacy Gwendolyne Maxine "Gwen" Stacy is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually as a supporting character in those featuring Spider-Man (Peter Parker). A college student and the daughter of George Stacy, Georg ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plagues (Album) 2007 albums The Devil Wears Prada (band) albums Rise Records albums Albums produced by Joey Sturgis