The latest band to come out of Epitaph Records’ fine collection of artists is Death Lens. With humble beginnings of being essentially a “party punk” band to today, Death Lens have truly evolved into a whole new beast, bringing politics to the forefront of their music, with all that they’ve experienced since beginning the band in the early 2010’s. Cold World is set to be the culmination of that process. “It’s the desire to thrive in a deteriorating world” stated the band. With the genre being as saturated as it is, what can Death Lens bring to the table of Punk?Continue reading →
The climb to success is rarely without slips or derailing obstacles; a fact that Californian Metallers Of Mice & Men have recently found during what has proven to be their most successful time period, and also their most punishing and challenging. Having shared stages with absolute titans of the Rock and Metal world, such as supporting Linkin Park, they also began to show signs of wear, with previous album Cold World (Rise) highlighting frontman Austin Carlisle’slingering health issues that led to his departure.Continue reading →
Of Mice & Men, currently on tour with In This Moment, have releases a documentary movie. Dubbed Unbreakable, the film aims to take fans behind the scenes of the tour life of the metalcore band. Watch the clip below.Continue reading →
Sad news to report as we wind down the year. Singer Austin Carlile has released a statemen, announcing his exit from Of Mice And Men due to further heath issues resulting from his life-threatening battle with Marfan Syndrome. He has moved to Costa Rica and is plotting the next move in his career. The band plans to continue without him. Read his statement below: Continue reading →
Metalcore stars Of Mice & Men have debuted the video for their new single ‘Real’. You can watch the video at this link or below:
Of Mice & Men’s are releasing their highly anticipated new album Cold World on September 9th from Rise Records. Real is the bands’ second video in advance of the new album, after the release of first track/video ‘Pain’, which racked up more than 2.1 million YouTube views. The single for ‘Real’ which premiered recently on SiriusXM’s Octane ahead of the video treatment.
Fans can get ‘Pain’ and ‘Real’ as instant grat downloads by pre-ordering the album from the band or . iTunes:
The video for ‘Real’ is dedicated to the memory of 14-year-old Cassy Colunga, who recently passed away after battling brain cancer. The band first met with Cassy through the Living The Dream Foundation and upon hearing that her condition worsened, arranged for a visit while recording the album. The band and director Max Moore the spent the day with Cassy and her family, brought her to the studio for a preview of the record (she was the first person outside of the band, producer and engineer to hear the album) and recorded her hand-claps for ‘The Lie’, an epic Cold World track that finds frontman Austin Carlile, himself having known the harrows of suffering from a long term illlness venting his frustrations about the medical system and “calling out the one percent for not taking care of the people they should be. “Now Cassy’s name and the sound of her clapping hands are on the record. It’s something that captures that moment and that relationship forever. When we think about everything we went through to make this record, that’s something that we’ll never forget.”
The band worked with The Marfan Foundation, Living The Dream Foundation and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and asked fans to submit video footage of themselves holding signs that answered the question, “What makes you feel real?”
Of Mice & Men are finishing out the string of their dates opening for Slipknot and Marilyn Manson wrapping up the remaining dates on their summer arena tour before celebrating the release of Cold World with a string of special album release shows in Los Angeles, New York, Cincinnati and New Orleans. Those performances will see the band performing Cold World live in its entirety for the first time ever. The shows will take place between the band’s scheduled performances at a number of major festivals in the U.S. Tickets are available and bundled with a copy of Cold World. Of Mice & Men’s headlining U.K. tour comes next, kicking off September 30 in Birmingham.
The 2015 edition of United Blood Fest lineup is now set for March 27-28, 2015 at The Canal Club in Richmond, VA and will feature:
Judge
Breakdown
Terror
Cold World
Down To Nothing
Code Orange
Crown Of Thornz
Rotting Out
Harms Way
Bracewar
Criminal Instinct
Give
Stick Together
Barge
Blistered
Broken Teeth
Break Away
Forced Order
Freedom
God’s Hate
Hardstripes
Heavy Chains
Malice At The Palace
Malfunction
Mizery
Snails Pace
When a band has as prominent an underground reputation as Cold World it is hard to miss the hype that’s been surrounding the release of their latest album, How The Gods Chill (Deathwish). As a new listener to the band, their reputation certainly preceded and it was hard not to start the album with high hopes. Firmly rooted in their usual hardcore style, this record also mixes influences from the rap scene, collaborating with artists like Kool G and Meyhem Lauren.
Despite not usually a fan of rap, this rapidly pans out as the most exciting part of the album with ‘Hell’s Direction’ beginning being one of the few genuinely enjoyable moments. The main vocals in comparison lack any real depth and, despite switching between shouted and sung sections, fail to add any life or interest to the music. It’s obvious these musicians are proficient, however, like the vocals, the music’s lack of any real variation quickly leads to the album becoming repetitive and boring.
The riffs may have a slightly punk feel but the music wanders too often into the realms of catchy, which is at odds when the band is so busy also trying to be angry. Cold World may be trying to capture the struggle of real life struggles however whatever rawness they manage to capture is quickly counteracted by the polished production sound.
While the band may have a steady stream of followers and continue to build a strong reputation on the underground, there is very little about this album that really inspires. While the hardcore scene continues to produce a wealth of talented artists and exceptional albums, anyone would be forgiven for giving this one a miss.
