The Devil Wears Prada (Band): 22 Interesting Facts

The Devil Wears Prada is an Ohio, US metalcore band. that started life playing Christian metal, but in a twist of fate most of them have long since shed that label.

Over the years The Devil Wears Prada went from underground upstarts on Rise Records (who re‑recorded the band’s demo for their debut album) to big‑league bands on Ferret/Warner/All‑Star/Even Roadrunner and finally Solid State for 2022’s album Color Decay.

There’s probably a lot that you didn’t know about this band, but today my aim is to change that…

Here are 22 Interesting Facts that you might not know about The Devil Wears Prada (the band, not the movie)

1. The band isn’t about designer clutches or stilettos – it literally borrowed its name from The Devil Wears Prada story/movie. Call it irony, fashion fans, or just good marketing. The choice is yours…

2. The Devil Wears Prada sprang up in Dayton, Ohio in the US in 2005 with an all‑Christian line-up. Their lyrical themes and even festival circuits (think 2006’s Cornerstone Christian festival) reflected that early faith-based identity.

3. Despite their righteous start, the band has since dropped the faith label. By 2021 Mike Hranica admitted the guys “haven’t promoted the band as being Christian for a looong time” – most members just want to rock.

4. After that first Dayton demo (“Patterns of a Horizon”), Rise Records swooped in and had the band re‑record everything for their debut Dear Love: A Beautiful Discord (2006). Producer Joey Sturgis (of Attack Attack! fame) even handled recording duties on Dear Love.

5. Even early The Devil Wears Prada tunes showed a sense of humor. Their 2007 album Plagues was promoted online with singles like “HTML Rulez D00d” and “Don’t Dink and Drance” – playfully misspelled, tech‑lingo riffs that delighted fans on Myspace and beyond.

6. To surprise people, The Devil Wears Prada once covered a rap hit. In 2008 they put their own metalcore spin on the Big Tymers’ “Still Fly” for the Punk Goes Crunk compilation. Yes, that’s the slick‑suit rap song played with breakdowns and double‑bass drums!

7. Their second album Plagues (2007) smashed expectations – it hit #57 on the Billboard 200 and actually sold about 30,000 more copies than their debut. (And it didn’t hurt that singles got airtime on MTV and Fuse).

8. By album three, The Devil Wears Prada was really breaking through. “With Roots Above” and “Branches Below” (2009) debuted at #11 on the Billboard 200– their highest chart position yet, fueled by fan faves like “Dez Moines.”

9. In 2010 they released a mini‑album Zombie that became a sleeper hit. Shockingly for an EP, it debuted at #10 on Billboard. Singer Mike Hranica called it a “fun” set with “brutal” fast songs – after all, it’s literally about a zombie apocalypse, a topic Mike loves. (It’s even said to be the fastest music they’d ever written).

10. A decade later they revisited the zombie theme. In 2021 the band released ZII, a sequel EP to Zombie. This time the undead nightmare is a metaphor for pandemic hopelessness – the album’s concept was “partially inspired by COVID-19” struggles.

11. Here’s a nerdy gem – one The Devil Wears Prada song title “With Roots…” is a direct nod to The Office. The track “Assistant to the Regional Manager” is (as reviewers note) “an obvious reference” to Dwight Schrute’s title. Even their intros once featured Office theme‑style bits in concerts.

12. The band’s tracks have popped up in gaming: “Dez Moines” became DLC in Guitar Hero World Tour and “Hey John, What’s Your Name Again?” hit Rock Band 1 & 2 as downloadable content. So yes, you can shatter plastic guitars to TDWP’s riffs!

13. From the start they begged and borrowed fans from bigger acts. They’ve shared stages with metal stalwarts (tours with Underoath, All That Remains, Killswitch Engage, etc) and played Warped Tour (main stage in 2009). Not bad for a band named after a Vogue premise.

14. In 2009 The Devil Wears Prada even made the cover of Alternative Press after readers voted them “Band of the Year”. That’s more votes than most pop-punk or metal bands ever get.

15. Frontman Mike Hranica once ran a merch line called “Shipshape Roolz.” He funneled part of the profits to causes like Skate 4 Cancer. It ultimately folded by late 2009 (a “legal issues” bump in the road, but it showed the band liked giving back.

16. Their live album Dead & Alive (2012) captures The Devil Wears Prada at full howl, recorded during the Dead Throne tour. The title track album was filmed live in Worcester, MA at the Palladium in 2011 – the kind of wild show these guys are known for.

17. In a twist, Mike Hranica launched an experimental solo side‐project in 2024 called Town of Lake. It’s droning, spoken‑word noise – think Swans meets horror soundscape – a far cry from The Devil Wears Prada’s sing‑alongs. Proof that even metalcore singers want to try something completely different.

18. The band’s line-up slowly rotated over time. Original keyboardist James Baney suddenly quit mid-tour in 2012. (By 2016, touring keyboardist Jonathan Gering was full-time) Early guitarist Chris Rubey left in 2015, bassist Andy Trick in 2019 – leaving only Mike Hranica and Jeremy DePoyster from Day 1.

19. Founding drummer Daniel Williams played on every The Devil Wears Prada record through 2013, then amicably departed in 2016. These days he’s not behind a drum kit but in an office – he works as a software architect. Who says metal drummers can’t code?

20. The Devil Wears Prada has 8 studio albums under their belt. Albums like Transit Blues (2016) and The Act (2019) show the band evolving, but each one still delivers those signature breakdowns that fans crave.

21. In 2025, the band released a new single entitled “For You”. The band describes the track as “A love story unraveling through the eyes of someone hopelessly devoted to a partner who can never truly give back. It’s the sound of desperation meeting blind loyalty — a crushing, cinematic anthem for the heartbroken.”

The band are working a new album and it will hopefully be released later in the year.

22. The Devil Wears Prada are heading to South Africa in the last quarter of 2025 to headline at RAMFest (in Pretoria and Cape Town).

Well, there you have it, 22 interesting facts you might not have known about The Devil Wears Prada (the metalcore band, not the movie). If I’ve left out something important, feel free to comment below.

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