Restoring Force - Of Mice and Men

Restoring Force – Of Mice and Men

Restoring Force is the 3^rd studio album from metalcore band, Of Mice and Men, who may no longer be classified as a metalcore band, but more a nu-metal band. The quintet from Southern California have noticeably strayed from the sound that’s popular for the majority of bands signed to rise records, taking more inspiration from nu-metal and classic rock bands.

Throughout their time as a band, Of Mice and Men have gone through some pretty dramatic line-up changes, the most recent being the departure of bassist and clean vocalist Shayley Bourget. The departure of Bourget, brought Aaron Pauley to the band, previously of Jamie’s Elsewhere. Pauley’s vocals are one of the highlights of the album, while some were doubting that the band would be able to find a suitable replacement for Shay Bourget and do him justice, Pauley certainly stuck it to them and showed that he could definitely live up to the previous vocalist’s talent.

The album kicks off with a song titled Public Service Announcement, which is the song for you if you were a fan of the four tracks released with the deluxe reissue of the band’s second album, The Flood. It’s a heavy track, features only vocals from lead vocalist Austin Carlile and is filled with angry lyrics reminiscent of those in The Storm and The Flood.

The first glimpses that fans got of the album were the songs You’re Not Alone and Bones Exposed. You’re Not Alone was something that came as a shock to a lot of the fans, as it was a distinct change from the band’s sound on their previous albums, as mentioned before, taking a lot of inspiration from nu-metal bands. It pleased some and definitely disappointed some, but when played with the rest of the album fits in well and is a contender as one of the best tracks on the album.

Would You Still Be There and Another You are tracks that take on more of a mainstream rock sound, which is something that we haven’t really heard from Of Mice and Men before. Would You Still Be There is a track mainly focused on Pauley’s vocals, though we do still hear moments of Carlile. The track is a step out from the metalcore scene and more of a step into hard rock, but is definitely an enjoyable, catchy track, and another up there as one of the best.

For those unable to let go of the band’s old sound, Break Free and You Make Me Sick are songs that would definitely be worth taking a listen of. You Make Me Sick is a heavy track, and just like Public Service Announcement is very reminiscent of those released on the reissue of The Flood. The lyrics are angry, the guitars are heavy and the song is fast paced, all making for a song that would go down seemingly well in a live show. Break Free is one not as heavy as You Make Me Sick but has a lot of similarities to songs from the band’s first and second records. The song features heavy riffs and catchy choruses, similar to tracks off the band’s usual live set.

Space Enough to Grow closes the album, which is an acoustic track with nothing but light guitar and percussion, along with vocals from Pauley. The song was a good choice to wrap up the album, and shows the versatility of the group. Versatility can be seen easily throughout all of the 11 tracks, with about an even amount of songs that take on a similar sound to the bands previous records, contrasting with songs that take on a differing sound. The amount of effort and passion that has been put into this record can be seen through every one of the tracks, and has resulted in what can be seen as the quintet’s best record of their career so far.

While the album has been receiving mixed reviews, it’s clear to see how much potential the band has, and how far the new direction they’re heading in could take them. The band have already kicked off a fast paced touring schedule for Restoring Force, beginning with the support slot for Bring Me The Horizon on their ‘American Dream Tour’, which will then be followed by a UK/Europe headliner with support from Issues and Beartooth, with a huge amount of festival dates in the US to follow that. The boys don’t seem as if this constant touring pattern will be stopping any time soon so hopefully we’ll see them returning to Australian shores sometime in the near future.