The Devil Wears Prada is wrapping up a busy 2024 and looking ahead to 2025 with new music and the milestone of 20 years as a band. When their fall headliner hit Toronto, Rock The Walls got to catch up with vocalist Mike Hranica to talk about their 2024 single “Ritual,” working on new music, hints at what a 20-year celebration could look like as far as touring goes, and much more! You can catch the full interview here.
Rock The Walls: You guys dropped “Ritual” earlier this year. It’s an absolutely awesome song, and as you mentioned, it’s also doing really well on streaming. It’s just really positively received by the fanbase as a whole. Coming off Color Decay with a track like that, it feels like you’re hitting on all cylinders.
At what point in time did you record “Ritual?” Was it the very last thing from the Color Decay sessions, or was this something you went in and recorded completely separately?
Mike Hranica: Pretty much entirely separately. I’m pretty sure that’s the only song we have drums for in terms of upcoming tunes, but I think we wrote that [“Ritual”] in December 2023, if I recall. We’ve been taking trips out to LA and working with different producers and songwriters. Basically kinda turning the songwriting process around, trying to mix up the formula a bit. Tyler [Smyth], who we worked with on that song, used to live with members of Prada. We go way back. He actually recorded my voice for [the A Day To Remember track] “(I’m Made Of) Wax Larry.” We’ve known Tyler forever, and he’s been popping off with huge records and singles. We worked with him for “Ritual,” and we have worked with him again since. I don’t know when it will come out, but yeah, we keep busy.
RTW: Taking those writing trips, whether working with him or other producers and continuing to try to progress and evolve from Color Decay to take things to the next level, what were some of the stuff you guys have discussed that you want to shine through on your next release or new music?
Hranica: I think it’s dialing in, for sure. It’s weird. It feels like Color Decay was yesterday. But at the same time, it very much feels like it’s 20 years ago in terms of how we made those songs versus what we’ve now made and are sitting on now. I really can’t say too much more beyond that. We are sitting on a lot of songs that are entirely finished that we’re pondering. Does it need changes? Drums aren’t worked out or finalized, but the process is different. At the same time, it’s just even more accolades to Jon [Gering], our keyboard player, who produces the music and does so much of the songwriting. That is his world, and he owns it, manipulates it, and just forms it into what it is. I think the tunes we’ll be rolling out here next year and onward are very much a testament to that.
RTW: I know we’ve talked about before at length in the past about how integral he [Jon Gering]has been since coming into the band from the production side of things and what he’s been able to create from electronic keyboards, synths and beyond. It really stands out on a track like “Ritual.”
Hranica: He works hard. He works very hard. It’s cool to get the call, work in rooms with him, and do my part lyrically and in everything. We’ll have more to report later on down the line as far as the process. I don’t wanna give too much away, but we keep busy. Jon especially. [Laughs.]
RTW: Looking ahead to next year, with not only new music on the horizon but as well celebrating 20 years as a band. Potentially, some stuff up your sleeves to celebrate those 2 decades? Or is next year going to be mostly focused on supporting and touring on whatever new music, whenever that may come out?
Hranica: Both. We’ll be busy again. First thing, we head to Europe, which I can’t wait. We’re headlining Europe which we haven’t done in a very long time. I love being over there. Culturally, it’s so inspiring and educational, so I can’t wait for that.
Otherwise we will be doing a lot of touring. I mentioned earlier that we weren’t supposed to be touring right now because we were just like, “Okay, we’ll just tour in the spring as the 20 year tour. Orrrrr we could go out right now because Silent Planet’s available and we can build a cool package and go out for 4-5 weeks.”
With that said, to answer your question, all of the above. We will be busy. There will be a lot of shows worldwide and new music. That’s the momentum we like to keep.
RTW: Anything to the effect of more album playthroughs celebrating some of those earlier records? Or would you guys like to approach it moreso like August Burns Red’s 20 year tour where the setlist spanned the entire catalog?
Hranica: Both, I answer everything with both. We tried to do that even with this set for eternal, go from Plagues all the way to songs we haven’t even put on records yet. At the same time, the boys really worked their asses off to learn Plagues. It’s like, “Okay. We played it twice?” Kinda seems like a wasted effort. It would be cool to take Plagues and play it in popular markets. I’ll leave it at that, and we’ll see what that turns into.
While we wait for new music and 20th anniversary tour plans to roll out for 2025, TDWP just released the acoustic version of “Chemical” (a track from 2019’s The Act). European fans can catch them in February 2025 with Kingdom Of Giants, SeeYouSpaceCowboy, and Senna! Then, the band will hit the road with Erra, Kingdom Of Giants, and Acres in the spring.
Tour Dates:
- Feb. 5—Haarlem, NL @ Patronaat
- Feb. 6—Hamburg, DE @ Gruenspann
- Feb. 7—Leipzig, DE @ Felsenkeller
- Feb. 8—Prague, CZ @ Futurum
- Feb. 9—Wien, AT @ Szene
- Feb. 11—Munchen, DE @ Backstage
- Feb. 12—Aarau, CH @ Kliff
- Feb. 13—Frankfurt, DE @ Batschkapp
- Feb. 14—Koln, DE @ Kantine
- Feb. 15—Antwerp, BE @ Trix
- Feb. 17—Glasgow, UK @ Slay
- Feb. 18—Manchester, UK @ Club Academy
- Feb. 19—Leeds, UK @ Stylus
- Feb. 20—London, UK @ O2 Academy Islington
- Feb. 21—Birmingham, UK @ 02 Institute 2
- Feb. 23—Paris, FR @ La Maroquinerie
- April 17—Wichita, KS @ Temple Live
- April 18—Des Moines, IA @ Val Air Ballroom
- April 19—Fargo, ND @ Sanctuary Events Center
- April 20—Winnipeg, MB @ Park Theatre
- April 22—Edmonton, AB @ Midway
- April 23—Calgary, AB @ The Palace Theater
- April 25—Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
- April 26—Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo
- April 27—Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theatre
- April 29—Great Falls, MT @ The Newberry
- April 30—Billings, MT @ Pub Station
- May 2—Lincoln, NE @ Bourbon Theatre
- May 3—Davenport, IA @ Capitol Theater
- May 4—Springfield, MO @ The Regency
- May 6 —Oklahoma City, OK @ Diamond Ballroom
- May 7—Little Rock, AR @ The Hall
- May 8—Huntsville, AL @ Mars Music Hall
- May 9—St Louis, MO @ The Pageant
- May 10—Columbus, OH @ Sonic Temple*
- May 13—Knoxville, TN @ The Mill & Mine
- May 14—Charleston, SC @ Charleston Music Hall
- May 16—Daytona Beach, FL @ Welcome To Rockville*
*Festival performance.