‘Of Mice & Men’ Release New Album

Brie Coder, Copy Editor


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The past two years have been a roller coaster for the band Of Mice & Men. In 2016, lead vocalist Austin Carlile left the band due to health issues, as well as song writing differences. This left the metalcore band with a dark cloud over their heads, wondering what will happen to their future music.

Bassist Aaron Pauley decided to take it upon himself and become the new vocalist for the band.

What was once a quintet has now become a quartet band, and the sound is still phenomenal.

On Jan. 19, Of Mice & Men released their fifth studio album “Defy.” This album alone rebuilds the band and their new future together. “Defy” delivers the sound fans have enjoyed over the years such as sing along melodies, big hooks, and monster grooves. Pauley has

incorporated a new sound to the album, but not in a drastic way.

There are 12 songs on the album, and it lasts 45 minutes. Though each song sounds different from the other, it all correlates together. “Vertigo” features all the melodic singing you’d expect to hear from an Of Mice & Men album.

“How Will You Live,” sounds like a song we’d hear on the radio.

It has a crisp sound, yet gives a taste to those who have never listened to metalcore music before. The song doesn’t have a lot of screaming, but enough to keep the song divergent.

My two favorite songs off the album are “Unbreakable,” and “Money.” “Unbreakable” has that hard edge that I enjoy in most metalcore artists. It has moments of the tempo increasing and decreasing towards the

chorus. The guitar and drums together make the song heavier, along with Pauley’s vocals.

  Pauley has a way with his vocal range. His screaming and normal sounding vocals make it sound as if Carlile never left the band.

Now “Money” on the other hand is a great cover to Pink Floyd’s original song. We all know as fans and musicians, that Pink Floyd’s music was way ahead of their time.

For another artist to cover their original content is

saying something. The question is, did they pull it off? Of course they did!

Concluding the album is “If We Were Ghosts.”

This song was a tribute to the late lead vocalist of Lincoln Park, Chester Bennington. Bennington passed away in July of 2017 from suicide.

The song is haunting, because it informs the listener on how valuable our lives really are, and not to take our lives for granted.

Overall “Defy” is a great album to listen to. The album provides the loud, identical sound that

fans heard when Carlile was lead vocalist. Pauley did a great job maintaining the same sound from their previous discography.

As of January, Of Mice & Men began their North American tour. They will be performing in Chicago on Feb. 11, at the House of Blues.

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