Review Summary: Strangely refreshing.
If anything can be said for the young musician, it’s that Austin Carlile is no stranger to evolution. He’s come a long way from the trendy scene kid that once fronted Attack! Attack!, and now actually deserves to be taken seriously. His new band, Of Mice & Men, has released three post-hardcore albums so far, all of them at a higher caliber than his first group. While
Of Mice & Men was a decent freshman outing, it was
The Flood that brought OM&M to earn the level of respect that they now have.
The Flood was darker and heavier than anything Carlile had previously worked on, as well as a chance for the rest of the members of Of Mice & Men to show that they wouldn’t just be backup. Anticipation was high then for the much-discussed
Restoring Force, and anticipation well-deserved. So, how does
Force hold up against
Of Mice & Men and
The Flood? That’s for you to decide.
As a whole, RF blends the deathcore influences of
Flood with the post-hardcore tendencies of the self-titled, as well as throwing in some new tricks. For one, Austin has once again changed his vocal performance, opting for a gritty, yelled delivery similar to Corey Taylor or Andrew Schwab. Yes, this does make the band sound more akin to Slipknot or Deftones than August Burns Red or MMF, but that doesn’t mean this a nu-metal revival record. The vocalist also occasionally tries his hand at singing, sounding like a grittier Eddie Vedder/Scott Stapp. Previous rhythm guitarist, bassist, and clean vocalist Shayley Bourget wasn’t in the group for the recording of this album sadly, and his unique cleans are definitely missed. However, his replacement Alan Ashby (who also played some on the band’s previous outing) manages to craft simple yet unique and provoking down-tuned riffs, and keep record interesting. Guitarist Phil Manansala is playing much of the same, but also experiments with different pedals and even soloing on this record. Bassist/clean vocalist Aaron Pauley doesn’t do much impressive with his guitar, and though he’s a talented singer, he’s no Bourget. Drummer Valentino literally rocks the entire album, and he and Austin are easily identifiable as the cornerstones of OM&M
“Public Service Announcement” is one of the band’s heaviest songs to date and an extremely strong opener, with an intense vocal performance and thrashing riffs. Harsh screams pervade the track and rock the listener, shaking him/her with dark emotion. The riffing in “Bones Exposed” sounds eerily similar to something off
White Pony, and the wah-wah/delay solo towards the end makes the song one of the most impressive in the string department. The blend of gruff yells and soaring cleans in “You’re Not Alone” symbolizes the movement in a alt-metal direction, especially with the melody-centered chorus and Stone Sour/Disturbed-riffing throughout, while the primarily melodic “Would You Still Be There” leans in classic hard rock direction that actually works quite well for the band. “You Make Me Sick” vies for the title of the group’s heaviest song, and with the palm-muted riffs and Slipknot-like percussion in the beginning, it’s not hard to imagine why. Carlile roars in a Taylor-esque manner that sounds enraged, and it’s strange hearing this song from the same band that wrote “Second & Sebring”. “Another You” also shows a leaning in a more melodic direction, as it’s the typical “crooned verse, screamed chorus” slow song that brings “Go To Hell For Heaven’s Sake” by Bring Me The Horizon to mind.
The boys are angry as heck all album, and it’s evidenced in the lyrics. Don’t get me wrong, Of Mice & Men have always been confrontational, but they actually sound enraged this time around. “Public Service Announcement” announces the over-used “shut up” many times, while “You Make Me Sick” is an obvious verbal attack. Though these approaches are clichéd, the passion in the delivery helps to make up for that. On the lighter side, “Another You” and “Space Enough To Grow” are the typical love ballads.
It’s different, and easily better than
Of Mice & Men. Is better than
The Flood? No, it isn’t better or worse, it’s just a different take on the band’s genre. After this, it won’t be easy to shoehorn them as “genericore”, because this was a good attempt at breaking the metalcore mold. Like
The Flood, this was strangely refreshing.
