November 30th, 2011 
Brian Leak 
For nearly seven years now, The Devil Wears Prada have been pushing the boundaries of metalcore with some of the most intense breakdowns as well as catchy and melodic keyboard-infused melodies and choruses. The band has released four full-length albums and one zombie themed EP, each of which dominated the metal charts in the years which they were released. Their most recent album, Dead Throne is their highest charted release, peaking at number 10 on the Billboard 200.
Under The Gun had the chance to chat with guitarist Chris Rubey about their most recent release, a love for zombies, and what has kept the band together all these years. Read through and get the scoop on The Devil Wears Prada.
How has the band been enjoying the success of Dead Throne?
Success is always a good thing, so I suppose it’s been awesome. The fans at the shows have been going off, and it’s been great playing the new material and having it be received so well.
What is the meaning behind the album title?
Dead Throne is alluding to a lot of what the lyrics on the album are about, and that’s the principal of anti idolatry. I’m fairly sure Mike is speaking about how you shouldn’t put people or things up on a pedestal, because those people, those things, can’t and won’t be there forever.
What did you guys put into the album that differed from your previous releases?
We recorded with Adam D. from the band Killswitch Engage. He really put a lot into rearranging the songs and cutting unnecessary parts. He also helped out a lot on the vocal front just by offering out different ideas. Jeremy McKinnon, from the band A Day to Remember, also helped out with some of the vocals. Normally we just record with one guy, Joey Sturgis. This time around he just did the keyboards.
What made you decide to record a zombie themed EP?
We wanted to be able to push the boundaries of what we could release as a band as far as heaviness and intensity goes, and we all love zombie movies, so it just kind of started out as a joke that just turned into a reality.
What has kept the original line-up together for the better part of a decade?
It’s not like we don’t have our occasional differences as a band, but we all came from the same place, and we are all genuine friends. It helps when you actually care about the well-being of the person that you’re arguing with. We’ve just been lucky in being able to work through the problems that all bands have.
Which of your music videos was your favorite to film?
I would, as a proud, lazy human being, say that “Assistant to the Regional Manager” was probably my favorite, because every band member only had to play through the song maybe 3 times at most, whereas normally you find yourself fully rocking out to the same song about 30 times. Easiest video shoot ever.
What are some influences that go into some of your more interesting song titles?
We stopped doing funny song titles so that we wouldn’t have to explain the meanings in interviews anymore. But seriously, generally the older songs were named after inside jokes within the band, or with our crew.
What would you consider to be the biggest highlight of the band’s career thus far?
I’m constantly being surprised with the new things happening in and with the band, but personally having our own Vans shoe has been one of the coolest things for me, because I actually love Vans and collect them a bit; pretty cool to work with them.
How do you decide which guest vocalists to feature on your albums such as Craig Owens and Tim Lambesis?
Generally they are just friends that know that we are recording a record, and either we ask them, or they just sort of offer to lend their vocals. Not too sure how it specifically worked out with each different person, but normally it’s just a, “Hey, wanna do a part on our record, bro?” type thing. Pretty simple.
Any goals you have that the band is yet to achieve?
We’d love to achieve a few platinum records, M&Ms separated into colors on the rider, and a Chipotle sponsorship. That’s all I can really think of.
Written & Conducted By: Brian Leak
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Such nice dudes. I remember interviewing them back when Zombie came out. Still one of my favorite interviews I’ve done.