Since forming in 2005, metalcore act The Devil Wears Prada has gone from anonymity in its home of Dayton, Ohio, to headlining tours, inking major-label deals and playing with the likes of Killswitch Engage and Underoath. Despite the endless amount of sex, drugs and other rock ’n’ roll vices no doubt available, the six members’ faith has remained steadfast, in lives and lyrics.

“A lot of things about the band have evolved and progressed in a lot of ways, but our message has stayed pretty close to its fundamental foundation,” lead singer Mike Hranica said. “Musically, we’ve gone in new directions, and visually, we’ve changed. We’ve gotten older, for sure, but the faith aspect is the one thing that’s stayed true.”

The group — which mistakenly took its name from the novel/ film, thinking it was a rebuke against materialism — doesn’t do things like most Christian bands; it’s never toured exclusively with spiritual-minded artists, and you won’t hear covers of “Amazing Grace.” However, Prada’s chugging guitars and earsplitting percussion play second fiddle to a Christian message that has only strengthened over time. Its latest album, “Dead Throne,” is a rallying cry against idolatry and materialism that is more obvious than ever.

“It’s something that’s always been in the lyrics, but people have always just glanced over. This time, I wanted to make it unavoidable, intentional and confrontational,” Hranica said. “It’s not just some line in a song — it’s what we really mean.”

Musically, their move toward heavier, darker riffs was prompted by last year’s somewhat less serious “Zombie EP,” a concept album about a zombie apocalypse.

“Moving in a heavier direction was something natural to us,” Hranica said. “It wasn’t something we had to force ourselves to do, and from what we can tell, it’s seen mostly positive results.”

The layover between releases may be longer than the two-year average Prada has seen so far, as Hranica and crew haven’t been able to decide where to go from here. Rest assured, it will be harder, better, faster, and stronger.

“There are a lot of things I’m content with on this record. I think it’s something we can look at and say was the best effort we could muster at that point,” he said. “I don’t feel like I have enough to make a record that is better than ‘Dead Throne,’ and we aren’t going to make a record that just matches that one. It has to be better.”

Photo by Adam Elmakias