''With Roots Above and Branches Below'' is the third studio album by American

metalcore Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use of ...

band The Devil Wears Prada. The album was released on May 5, 2009, through

Ferret Music Ferret Music was an American independent record label turned Warner Music Group subsidiary, founded in 1996. The label is owned by NORA's vocalist, Carl Severson, and based in West Windsor, New Jersey. Ferret recently started an imprint called N ...

. It charted at No. 11 on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling 31,000 in its first week.

Background and recording

The Devil Wears Prada began writing for ''With Roots Above And Branches Below'' after attending 2008's

Warped Tour The Warped Tour was a traveling rock tour that toured the United States plus three or four stops in Canada annually each summer from 1995 until 2019. It was the largest traveling music festival in the United States and the longest-running touring ...

. They started performing "I Hate Buffering" for live audiences for the remainder of the tours they were on that year.Beringer, Drew
"A Lot Of The Devil Wears Prada News"
'' AbsolutePunk.net''. Retrieved on March 13, 2009. They began production and recording of the album during early 2009, while so, vocalist Mike Hranica stated "We're really excited for this album. It's definitely going to be darker, heavier, and more epic. Expect a much heavier, more metal record." Drummer Daniel Williams stated that the new album would be "wilder and crazier" with songs that would features new elements such as choruses, and James Baney stated that the album would be more mechanical, but that it would still contain their same distinct style."The Devil Wears Prada - Studio Update.2 video"
''NME''. Retrieved on March 13, 2009.

Promotion and release

The first material released from the album was the song "Dez Moines". It was uploaded to the band's MySpace profile on March 13, 2009, and was released as a free download for fans. On the band's co-headlining US tour with

A Day to Remember A Day to Remember (often abbreviated ADTR, and previously known as End of an Era) is an American rock band from Ocala, Florida, founded in 2003 by guitarist Tom Denney and drummer Bobby Scruggs. They are known for their amalgamation of meta ...

Emarosa Emarosa ( ) is an American rock band formed in Lexington, Kentucky, in 2006. The band currently consists of lead guitarist and founding member ER White and lead vocalist Bradley Walden, who joined the band in 2013. The group has undergone severa ...

and

Sky Eats Airplane Sky Eats Airplane was an American post-hardcore band from Fort worth, Texas, Fort Worth, Texas. The band was signed to indie label Equal Vision Records and most recently released their self-titled full-length album through the label in July 2008 ...

, they offered fans special download cards for the songs "Dez Moines" and "Assistant to the Regional Manager". "Dez Moines" is also available as

downloadable content Downloadable content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can either be added for no extra cost or it can be a form of video game monetization, enablin ...

for the video game ''

Guitar Hero World Tour ''Guitar Hero World Tour'' (initially referred to as ''Guitar Hero IV'' or ''Guitar Hero IV: World Tour'') is a music rhythm video game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the fourth main installment in the ''Guitar Hero'' ...

'' and was released on May 7, 2009, as a part of the Ferret/Metal Blade Records Pack. ''With Roots Above and Branches Below'' was released on May 5, 2009, through

. The album was released in two editions; a standard version and a deluxe CD/DVD version. The deluxe CD/DVD includes the disc and a DVD that contains a making of the album that also premiered online. There are some clips that were deleted after being presented for a short time online that are also featured on the DVD. The album cover artwork was illustrated by

Dan Seagrave Daniel Seagrave (born 1970) is a British artist, who created many record covers for death metal bands especially in the early 1990s. He lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He grew up in Ravenshead, near Nottingham. Seagrave's works are typically ...

, who is well known for his work for metal acts including

Morbid Angel Morbid Angel is an American death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling ...

Suffocation Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects primarily the tissues and organs. There are many circumstances that can i ...

and

Demon Hunter Demon Hunter is an American Christian metal band from Seattle, Washington, started in 2000 by brothers Don Clark and Ryan Clark. Although the brothers created the band together, only Ryan remains, since Don left the band to take care of his ...

. The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for the song "Danger: Wildman" was released on August 4, 2009, and the video for "Assistant to the Regional Manager" was released April 6, 2010.

Critical reception

The album entered the ''Billboard'' 200 at number 11 with sales of 31,000 in the first week, making it the band's most successful album at the time of its release. The album also peaked at number one on the ''Billboard''

Top Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by ''Billboard'' magaz ...

Top Hard Rock Albums The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

, and

Christian Albums Top Christian Albums is a weekly chart published in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the best-performing Christian albums in the United States. Like the ''Billboard'' 200, the data is compiled by Nielsen Soundscan based on each album's weekly ...

charts.

Track listing

Personnel

;The Devil Wears Prada * Mike Hranica - lead vocals * Chris Rubey - lead guitar * Jeremy DePoyster - rhythm guitar, clean vocals, lead vocals on track 10 * Andy Trick - bass * James Baney - keyboards, synthesizer, piano * Daniel Williams - drums, percussion ;Production * Engineered, mixed and mastered by

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 ...

* Produced by The Devil Wears Prada and Joey Sturgis * A&R by Carl Severson *Illustrations by

*Layout by Sons of Nero

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2009 albums The Devil Wears Prada (band) albums Ferret Music albums Albums with cover art by Dan Seagrave Albums with cover art by Sons of Nero Albums produced by Joey Sturgis