Album of the Week #13.

Of Mice & Men- Of Mice & Men.

I’d read reviews of this band in various music magazines and had seen the video for the single ‘Second and Sebring’ on the goggle box a while back and wanted to check them out. So I did.

This album is a mix of hardxcore inspired strained vocals, combined with pop-punk style clean vocals, fast guitars and clinical beatdowns. I think, unlike some alternative/rock/metal bands (to cover all grounds) this band manage to combine intensity with catchy lyrics to make music that is jovial (for want of a better word) but still furious. I do find that a lot of metal bands only write miserable and intense songs, which is part of the allure, but its nice to throw a bit of lightness into the mix every now and then. Don’t get me wrong, this band aren’t all fluffy clouds and carebears, but they for sure aren’t doomy, down tuned tortured souls.

So to cover some specifics. There’s parts of the guitars on this album that remind me of Underoath. The band layer sharp riffs with wirey guitar pieces further down in the mix. THere is a keyboard player in this band which adds another layer to the melodies. There are some cracking beatdowns on this album, averaging out about one per track. My fave songs on the album are the aforementioned single; ‘Farewell to Shady Glade’ and ‘This One’s For You’. A lot of the songs seem to be about relationships which is a nice break from murderous battle cries.

This is the band’s full length debut, and their latest album ‘The Flood’ (2011) is equally as good; but this one is for sure my favourite of the two. Overall, this album is fast, catchy and definitely hardxcore inspired with a modern metalxcore twist.