Of Mice and Men out Costa Mesa California USA was formed in 2009 by vocalist Austin Carlile and Jaxin Hall.
“Restoring Force” is their third full-length studio album and was released on January 24, 2014 in Europe and Australia; January 27, 2014 in Japan and the UK and January 28, 2014 in the US.
The name “Restoring Force” is a reference to the last album The Flood. Frontman Austin Carlile explained: “What happens after a disaster? What happens after ‘The Flood’? You return to normal. You find balance again. That’s what we felt like we were doing with this album.Also he stated that the album will have more of a focus on the lyrics and “enhanced the melodic aspects” of the album and will sound like a “…fusion between Meshuggah and Nickelback. The cover of the album, which is a sea shell is a visual representation of this return to equilibrium.
The album opens up with the track “Public Service Announcement” which pretty much sets the mood for the whole album, riff heavy playing with some seriously down-tuned guitars. You can definitely hear elements of nu-metal and metalcore both in the sound of this track. “Feels Like Forever” is next up, with a catchy little riff in the intro, they build up a whole song. The band is definitely getting better at using the empty spaces in their sound. “Bones Exposed” is one of the most aggressive songs on the album. “Would You Still Be There” is definitely much more “hard rock” than the previous songs on the album, without really any more than a slight hint of metalcore. “Glass Hearts” starts out like a light little melody and builds into a much heavier song .
“Another You” is another track on the album that starts fairly light and clean, and with a female guest vocalist. The song builds into a really strong track. “Break Free” has a strong nu-metal vibe going on with the guitars in the intro. “You Make Me Sick” is an aggressive song from the start, though it starts with a really cliché-like pick scrape . “Identity Disorder” stood out to me as having one of the most interesting bass lines and lyrical themes from the album – this is another track that sounds much more like hard rock than either metalcore or nu-metal. “You’re Not Alone” has some serious bite, and is also released as the first single of the album. The album closes out with the track “Space Enough to Grow,” which has a kind of ambient little thing going on in the opening. The song really sounds like the title implies and doesn’t sound like anything else from the album. Only clean vocals are used for this entire track, and relatively clean guitar and bass and just light percussion.
The album was produced by David Bendeth, who has done an excellent job in the overall production and mixing on the album.
Rating: 7/10
Written by “Stingray”
Tracklist:
01 Public Service Announcement
02 Feels Like Forever
03 Bones Exposed
04 Would You Still Be There
05 Glass Hearts
06 Another You
07 Break Free
08 You Make Me Sick
09 Identity Disorder
10 You’re not alone
11 Space Enough to Grow
Band members:
Austin Carlile – Vocals
Aaron Pauley – Bass/Vocals
Valentino Arteaga – Drums
Philip Manansala – Guitar
Alan Ashby – Guitar
Albums:
Of Mice and Men 09-03-2010
The Flood 14-06-2011
The Flood (deluxe reissue) 23-07-2012
Restoring Force 28-01-2014
Singles:
The Depths. 15-06-2012
You’re not alone 01-12-2013
Record Label: Rise Records, Jan. 2014
Weblinks: Facebook / Twitter / Website
Buy the album here:
Holland: First Paradox
Norway: Nordic Mission
USA: Metal Helm
Video below for ‘Bones Exposed’