were written pretty much solely by me on my computer and that’s why they sound different. For Dead Throne we wanted to do that and obviously bring in some of the other elements people liked in Plagues. While Zombie was centrally themed lyrically and musically around a specific topic, Dead Throne conveys a central message with common themes "revolving around idols." Hranica expands when asked about his lyrical themes, which have always been very abstract and metaphorical in order to draw out different meanings depending on the interpreter: Hranica also stated that many of the album's negative themes were inspired from the ending of his five-year relationship. Critical reception The album received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 76, based on 6 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". The album was credited for its more experimental and orchestral take on metalcore, and less produced and more violent sound. Ryan Williford of Audiopinions gave the album a 7.5 out of 10 describing the band's choice of producer, Adam Dutkiewicz as a wise move for the band. This is because Williford believes that Joey Sturgis, who produced all of their discography prior to Dead Throne, overproduces his work. He credited the record for its rawer and more natural sound. Drew Beringer of AbsolutePunk also favored Dead Throne for the variety on the record, particularly praising The Devil Wears Prada for their instrumental song "Kansas" and their evolution as songwriters. Jason Lymangrover on a review for Allmusic gave the album three and a half stars out of five, describing it as being "at its most technical and most brutal" and comparing it to "technical metalcore and European symphonic metal." Wayne Reimer of Jesus Freak Hideout, appreciated the progression from The Devil Wears Prada's third studio album, With Roots Above and Branches Below to Dead Throne as well as crediting the band's drummer, Daniel Williams, for his performance on the record, praising his creativity in the songs and his lack of double bass pedal motions to fill his role. Reimer went as far to say "The tempo fluctuates effortlessly and fluidly throughout each track; this is not to be taken for granted." In Adrian Garza's review for Christian Music Zine (giving 4.5 out of 5) he praises the vocal performance of clean