Emily Haase
Entertainment Editor
The post-hardcore band Of Mice & Men released their newest album “Restoring Force” on January 28th, and it definitely did not disappoint.
The album begins with the song “Public Service Announcement,” which is an angry track basically telling the world to leave them alone. The vocals are nothing but screaming throughout the entire song, though the words are still audible.
And actually, the more hardcore screaming style remains throughout the album. Every other song has a death-metal roar to it, though the choruses remain more on the melodic metal side. “Bones Exposed” and “Glass Hearts” are perfect examples of this style, and “Bones Exposed” also has a very prominent Avenged Sevenfold type of guitar riff starting it out.
“Break Free” and “You Make Me Sick” are more on the dark side, and the screaming style remains throughout both songs without much of a mellow break.
On the more gentle side of the coin, songs like “Feels Like Forever” and “Would You Still Be” There are perfect examples of their calmer style. Both tracks have a very Pierce the Veil feel to them, but still have a fairly unique style as well.
The best song on the album would probably be “You’re Not Alone,” which mixes their hardcore and melodic styles perfectly. The lyrics are also inspirational to anyone going through a tough time, echoing “You’re not alone anymore,” and “Don’t let the world bring you down.”
The album does get a big generic in spots, with songs like “Identity Disorder” using lyrics like “The silence is deafening,” but overall the rest of the album overrides the cliché’ phrases.
The album ends with the track “Space Enough To Grow,” which starts with a slow, almost haunting melody, and stays calm and beautiful throughout. It’s a great example of the softer side of OM&M.
All and all, the album satisfies cravings for a hardcore mosh session, and also gives fans something to chill and listen to on a rainy day. If I were rating the album on a scale of 5, it would probably get a 4.25.
Leave a Reply