Dead Throne is the fourth studio album by American metalcore band The Devil Wears Prada. It was released on September 13, 2011, through Ferret Music. Produced by Adam Dutkiewicz, the record was recorded in several studios across the United States from November 2010 – April 2011. The album is a follow up to The Devil Wears Prada's 2009 album, With Roots Above and Branches Below. Much like their previous efforts the album's lyrics were penned by lead vocalist Mike Hranica, whose lyrical direction focused on anti-idolatry concepts. The band's musical style changed after the success of the Zombie EP, this led to, what Hranica described as; fusing the melodic elements of their previous studio albums with the ferocity of Zombie. Background and recording Since the time of The Devil Wears Prada's fame, their past approach of all band members sitting down and writing a record, hasn't been used collaboratively since Plagues, it is noted by guitarist Chris Rubey that about midway through the writing process of their third full-length With Roots Above and Branches Below, their songwriting style and process changed drastically. Vocalist, Hranica commented on the album's lyrical theme is based upon anti-idolatry. He also said it's the "heaviest and most aggressive album to date." Hranica speaks on the evolution of the band as a whole: "Our early material was dumb, plain and simple, and moving away from that, I think we've grown into smarter, more creative riffs, along with easier to follow songs. It's things like that that mark the evolution of TDWP." The album also features the absence of clean vocal passages on select songs, this is the first time The Devil Wears Prada has done this since Dear Love: A Beautiful Discord. Dead Throne was recorded from November 2010 to April 2011, with the sessions taking place three different recording studios in the United States, which were Zing Studios in Westfield, Massachusetts, Blacklodge Studios in Eudora, Kansas and The Foundation Recording Studios in Connersville, Indiana. Composition Influences, style and themes Mike Hranica explained that Dead Throne did not need "to sound a certain way throughout." Rhythm guitarist Jeremy DePoyster's clean vocals are still contrasted with a wide array of screamed vocals, which are featured more prominently than clean singing. Lead guitarist and primary songwriter Chris Rubey stated that the musical direction of the album on the Zombie EP was "heavier, more sinister, and zombie-like. Those songs