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.

All Time Low Sidewave - 25th of February, 2013

25th of February at the Factory Theatre in Marrickville saw one of the many sideshows that were organised thanks to the Soundwave Festival. The night brought Baltimore pop-punk four piece, All Time Low to the Factory, along with Polar Bear Club and Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! as support.

The night started off with a "Hustler Club" Meet and Greet, which gave about 50 dedicated fans the opportunity to meet the band. 'The Hustler Club' is All Time Low's fan club and offers the special privilege of getting a chance to meet and greet with the band before the show in your city. All the fans have to do is sign up, and the day before the gig, a list is posted online, letting the fans know if they were lucky enough to score a spot in the pre-show hang out.

After a quick run through by the band's tour manager, letting the fans know that they weren't to take videos of the band for their friends, ask the band to record their voicemail message, get the band to write out lyrics for them, or touch the band inappropriately, the fans were free to get photos, autographs and hugs for the next half hour.

When the meet and greet came to a close, the select hustlers also got early entry to the venue, helping them to secure a spot on the barrier for the show.About 15 minutes later, the rest of the crowd entered the venue, and after about half an hour of waiting, the first band made their way to the stage.

Pop punk band all the way from France, Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! were the first to hit the stage, warming up the crowd with their upbeat pop-punk, post-hardcore tunes. The band played a few tracks off their newest album, Pardon My French, as well as their Punk Goes Pop cover of We R Who We R, originally by Ke$ha. The band closed with their most well known song, In Friends We Trust, which was obviously the crowd favourite.

Next to the stage were Polar Bear Club, and although the crowd were getting slightly restless and seemed to would have much preferred to cut the second support act and skip straight to All Time Low, the punk rock, post hardcore band from Syracuse managed to keep the crowd entertained with their extremely energetic set, particularly due to the excellent stage presence of front man, Jimmy Stadt.

Next up was the moment that everyone had been waiting for, All Time Low were finally making their way to the stage. The band opened with Somewhere In Neverland, a track off their most recent release, Don't Panic.

The band managed to play the perfect mix of tracks from each of their albums, and seemed to make almost all of the fans there very happy with the choice of their set list.

About half way through the set, lead vocalist Alex Gaskarth had to leave the stage due to a sickness he had been suffering with during the band's trip to Australia. Guitarist, Jack Barakat, called on any males within the crowd who could sing, to get on stage with them if they knew the lyrics to Dammit by Blink-182.

Luke McChesney from Forever Ends Here, an upcoming band from Sydney was quick to get on stage, taking up the opportunity to perform with some of his idols. Jack also called on good friend standing side stage, Jaime Preciado, bassist for Pierce The Veil to join them. They played two blink covers, Dammit and All The Small Things before Gaskarth made a return to the stage.

The band continued to play a few more songs, including a slowed down Remembering Sunday and Therapy. The band played one of their most popular tracks, Time Bomb and left the stage but returned not long after for an encore, playing Weightless and Dear Maria, Count Me In. The band said their thank yous and their good byes, also making a promise to return to Australia sometime in the near future.

All Time Low put on a great show and all fans left extremely satisfied and impressed. The band kept to their promise and are returning to Australian shores this August & September.

Soundwave Festival - Part Two

Soundwave Part One

All Time Low were up next, a pop-punk four piece from Baltimore. The band ran a little late but had a huge crowd waiting for their arrival to stage. The boys opened with Damned If I Do Ya, the crowd immediately hyped up and enjoying the performance. A large variety of songs were played, songs ranging from tracks off their first ever EP, Put Up or Shut Up, to hits off their most recent release, Don't Panic. All Time Low's set was another energy filled performance, the crowd constantly entertained with fast, catchy songs, singalongs and the bands on stage banter.

(Photo by Adam Elmakias)

Next I headed to one of the main arenas for Blink-182. Even though it was largely advertised that Blink were to be headed to Australia as a full band, plans were changed last minute, drummer Travis Barker, unable to make it. Barker was involved in a plane accident in 2008, in which he was the only survivor. Barker hasn't flown since the accident but was determined to make it for Soundwave, but unfortunately could not defeat his fear. Blink-182 instead played with replacement, Brooks Wackerman.

Blink-182 played on Stage 2, a stage that went through a few complications throughout the day. Soundwave occurred the same time as floods occurred in Queensland and New South Wales, causing problems for the trucks with gear heading to the festival. The timetable at Stage 2 was shuffled around throughout the day, bands running late, and the festival being extended 45 minutes so that Paramore could play after The Offspring.

The arena quickly filled up as other bands' sets finished, the mosh pit and seats pretty much entirely filled as Blink hit the stage after setting up their many lights and screens. The band opened with Feeling This, the crowd immediately going off over the fact that Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge were really playing right in front of them. The band played a large range of songs off all their albums, the crowd noticeably not enjoying the songs off their most recent release, Neighbourhoods, compared to all their hits off their earlier albums such as Enema of the State and Dude Ranch.

(Photo by Sammy Roenfeldt)

Blink-182 were also ones to keep the crowd very entertained with Mark and Tom's banter. The band closed with Dammit merged with Family Reunion, which was definitely a highlight of the set. Literally within seconds of Blink's set finishing, The Offspring hit the stage to keep the timetable running on time, due to shuffling of bands' playing times.

After Blink, I headed to Pierce The Veil at Stage 5. Stage 5 was probably the worst stage out of all the Soundwave stages, as it was inside one of Sydney Showground's pavillions, and was far too small for the crowd watching Pierce The Veil.

Pierce The Veil are a pop-punk band from San Diego, California but are better known for their Mexican background. The band opened their set with "May These Noises Startle You In Your Sleep Tonight" an intro track on their most recent album, Collide With The Sky, which then merged into follow up track Hell Above. The band played a short set only playing 6 or 7 songs but had one of the most energy filled sets, the mosh pit screaming every lyric and jumping and dancing throughout every song, even though Pierce The Veil were one of the last bands of the day for most.

Overall, Soundwave was quite a successful day apart from the few complications involving timetables on Stage 2 and a flare being lit in the mosh for Bring Me The Horizon, causing minor injuries to 2-3 people. This year's Soundwave was the biggest the festival has ever seen, every city selling out within a few days of sale. Everyone who attended the festival seemed to be more than content with their day, very thankful for organiser, AJ Maddah, for putting on the day.

Soundwave Festival - Part One

The 24th of February held the long awaited event for all metal, punk and rock lovers from Sydney; the second leg of the Soundwave Festival. The festival had visited Brisbane the previous day and Sydney was up next, bringing the likes of Metallica, Linkin Park, Blink-182 and The Offspring to Sydney Showgrounds.

The day kicked off early, people being let into the gates from about 10.00am, the first bands set to hit the stage at 11.00. Thousands of people were already flowing through the gates as they opened, most heading to the merchandise tents or the signing tent to start the long day ahead of them. 

Timetables were released a few weeks prior to the event and caused a lot of stress for many. With most of the headliners playing at the same time and a lot of clashes between smaller bands with similar fan bases, it quickly became a tough decision of which bands to check out.

First band up for me were Memphis May Fire, a Rise Records, post-hardcore band from Dallas, Texas. The band managed to pull a pretty big crowd for being one of the first bands to play and one of the smaller bands of the line up. They produced an energy filled set, playing songs such as Vices, Prove Me Right and Without Walls. The band were also joined on stage by good friend and Sleeping With Sirens front man, Kellin Quinn, to play Legacy.

Next up, were Mindless Self Indulgence. MSI have been around for around 16 years and that could easily be seen through their incredible stage presence. The band have a unique synth-punk, electronic rock sound and had the whole crowd moving through out the set, especially in their hit songs Shut Me Up and Straight To Video. Lead vocalist, Jimmy, entertained the crowd with his constant dancing and weird antics that is well known for.

Sleeping With Sirens were next, another Rise Records post-hardcore band. Sleeping With Sirens pulled a huge crowd even if it was mainly filled with teenage girls, a large majority of them screaming over front man, Kellin Quinn. The band played all their well known tracks, opening with Do It Now, Remember It Later. For two songs in the set the band went acoustic, leaving only Kellin and lead guitarist Jesse on stage to perform Don't Fall Asleep The Helm and Roger Rabbit; a track of their most recent release, Acoustic EP - If You Were A Movie, This Would Be Your Soundtrack. 

Leaving Sleeping With Sirens set a few songs early, I headed to stage four to see yet another Rise Records band, but this time metal core act, Of Mice and Men. Arriving at the set, the band were kicking off their most recent single, The Depths. Lead vocalist, Austin Carlile dedicated the song to legendary front man, Corey Taylor, getting the crowd involved in a very Slipknot like action, everyone kneeling down until the first line of the song was screamed. The band played 8 songs, the mosh pit never stopping the entire time, complete with circle pits and a 'wall of death'.

Because They Can - Alive

The long awaited release for teenage pop-rock band from Sydney, Because They Can has finally arrived, their debut EP, Alive, available in stores and off iTunes from the 25th of January, 2013.

The band managed to get signed by indie label, Sunday Morning Records, in early 2011, after only a year or two as a band and only having a few tracks up on their Facebook and MySpace pages. Soon after this, it was announced that Because They Can were to be a supporting band for Short Stack on their This is Bat Country tour in mid-2011 and from that point on was when their fan base really began to grow. 

In the time between having a few of their own headlining shows, the band released two music videos, for The Way You Hate Me and It's Not About You, but the fans were wondering when they were finally going to get to see a proper release from the boys.

Alive was then announced as what would be the band's debut EP, It's Not About You being the first song released off the EP, along with a few shows and meet and greets announced to go with the release.

The EP is definitely a big step up from anything previously released from the boys, majority of the songs taking quite a more rocky influence rather than their previous pop-punk sound. The band have clearly grown a lot since their old tracks, Check This Once and Rockstar, lead vocalist Eddie Kemp's vocals and writing style having clearly matured.

The stand out songs on the EP would have to be Alive, Pretty Boy, I'm Over It and Salt. These four tracks are attention grabbing and if you're used to the band's older music, will come as quite a shock. Alive and Pretty Boy, are probably the most rocky tracks on the release, Alive particularly with incredibly catchy choruses and hooks. Salt seems to have so far been a bit of a fan favourite, the lyrics are quite powerful and easy to relate to for some.

Open Your Eyes seems to sound a lot more like Because They Can's older tracks, having a slight more influence from pop and pop punk. 

It's Not About You was the first song fans were able to hear off the EP when the boys released a music video for the song in November. But the song when compared to the rest of the EP is probably the let down of the release, if you could even call it that. The song is very poppy, with a catchy chorus but doesn't seem to stand out.

The last two tracks on the EP, I Wish You Knew and I Want You, show a bit more of the other side to the band, with softer, more ballad like lyrics but still keep your attention and are a great end to the EP.

Because They Can have done an excellent job with this EP, and most of the fans seem to agree. It was well worth the long wait and quite impressive for a debut EP.

(Alive - Because They Can available from JB Hi-Fi, Sanity and iTunes)

Diviney - 12th of January, 2012

The 12th of January saw the Metro Lair filled with a few hundred teenage girls for the first Sydney show for Diviney, the ex-front man of Short Stack, Shaun Diviney's, new band. 

(Photography by Jack Toohey)

Short Stack split around April 2012, leaving majority of the teenage fanbase quite heartbroken, most of them having supported the band for many years. Front man Shaun was quite quick to announce his new project, stating they would be heading to America in the coming months to start the recording of new material. 

Diviney has recruited two ex-members of Die For You, Sinj Clarke who also used to play keys for Short Stack while they toured and Chris Circosta. As well as ex Operator Please member, Tim Commandeur. 

Having only released one song on YouTube, titled You're So Cool, and an acoustic video for another track titled, Dance With The Devil, Diviney still managed to completely sell out the Metro Lair, also being only their second ever show. 

First up were The Never Ever who never fail to play a good show, always managing to get the crowd hyped up and involved with their fun, energetic songs, which are easy to sing and dance along to. Another side to the band was also seen as lead vocalist Dylan Nash and bassist Pat Ortiz, played their most recent single Deja Vu, acoustically - ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZLIRwEKH78 )

The next act up were For Our Hero, a pop-rock band from Melbourne, who also played a great set. The band opened with one of their most well-known tracks, Don't You Dare, which appeared to be a crowd favourite. Most of the crowd seemed to be fans of the band, almost everyone knowing at least a few of the songs. Front man Jay Taplin had the audience mesmerised for the half hour set, flaunting his excellent stage presence. They finished their set off with their latest single, Take The Night - ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFpX_IHnBC0 ) . The band played a great set, especially considering only weeks prior to the show, drummer Nax Vee announced his sudden departure from the band, leaving the replacement only a short amount of time to learn the music. 

Next up was who everyone had been waiting for, Diviney. The band opened with Dance With Devil and followed with a few previously unheard tracks, including what is rumoured to soon be the band's first proper single, Skeleton. Some of the other new songs played included Elvis Presley and Eyes Out. The new tracks were quite a lot more pop/dance influenced than any music that had come from Short Stack which came as a disappoint to some fans, but seemed to please most.

Diviney also played a few old Short Stack tracks - Rain On Her Parade, Are You Afraid Of The Dark and Planets - as well as an old Die For You track, Sex Games. 

Apart from when two acoustic songs were played it seemed like there was not a second in Diviney's whole set where the crowd weren't moving. It was a high-energy set filled with plenty of dancing and for the band's second show, it was quite a success. 

RIP Mitch Lucker

November 1^st, 2012 saw the tragic death of a legend in the hardcore/metal scene, Suicide Silence front man, Mitch Lucker.

Suicide Silence are a deathcore band formed in 2002 and have released 3 full length albums, their most recent being The Black Crown. Mitch Lucker was an iconic front man in the scene, an inspiration and friend to many. Mitch was often recognised for his high pitched screaming technique and the ‘Mitch Lucker Stomp’.

On November 1^st, word got around through the use of social networks that unfortunately Mitch had passed away due to injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash. Mitch lost control of his 2013 Harley-Davidson, slamming into a light pole in Huntington Beach at around 9pm. Suicide Silence released this statement on their Facebook page soon after.

"There's no easy way to say this. Mitch passed away earlier this morning from injuries sustained during a motorcycle accident. This is completely devastating to all of us and we offer our deepest condolences to his family. He will be forever in our hearts. R.I.P Mitchell Adam Lucker. We love you, brother."

It was devastating news to all Suicide Silence fans and even some who weren’t fans of the band. Many of Mitch’s band mates and friends took to twitter to offer their thoughts and prayers to his family, and bands such as Pierce The Veil and Asking Alexandria dedicated songs and their performances to Mitch in their shows the following nights.

Only hours after his death, Mitch’s wife Jolie, along with his band mates and some friends, decided to organise a candlelit vigil at the sight of Mitch’s death in Huntington Beach. Family, friends and fans all showed up to pay their respects to the front man and his family, placing flowers, candles, photos, artworks and letters at the sight, along with sharing their fondest memories of Mitch with each other.

Mitch was not only a front man and husband, but was also a father; 5 year old Kenadee Lucker, was Mitch’s daughter. Kenadee was also at the candlelit vigil, holding her candle up as high as she could ‘so that daddy could see it’, telling everyone “I’m not going to see daddy anymore, he’s in heaven.”

Suicide Silence set up a memorial fund, in which all the proceeds go towards Kenadee Lucker’s education fund. Photographer Adam Elmakias also teamed up with Suicide Silence to sell some prints, one of Mitch and good friend Oli Sykes of Bring Me The Horizon, and some of Mitch and Kenadee, again, all the proceeds going towards Kenadee’s education.

(Photo credit to Adam Elmakias)

Most recently announced was ‘Ending is The Beginning’, a Mitch Lucker memorial show (21^st of December at The Fox Theatre in Pomona). Different vocalists from deathcore/hardcore/metalcore bands will be joining Suicide Silence on stage to sing a Suicide Silence song each, in the place of Mitch. 

Mitch Lucker is still constantly in the thoughts and hearts of family, friends and fans and will remain that way for a very long time. He was seen as an icon and a legend in his scene and people will continuously aspire to be like the great person that he was. He will never be forgotten.

Rest In Peace, Mitch Lucker.