With the not so long ago departure of Shayley Bourget, the band’s clean vocalist, and the re-release of their 2012 album The Flood with four ‘screamed only’ songs, one question that hung over Of Mice and Men’s show was’ what were they going to sound like?
Aaron Pauley joined their ranks as the touring bassist and clean vocalist and although he might not be able to produce the same quality vocals as Bourget on a recording, the live show was beyond satisfactory.
The openers on the night were a bit hit and miss. While She Sleeps brought a number of hardcore anthems and pit-worthy tributes, making the most of every inch of the small stage.
Chelsea Grin were the miss of the evening. Their rapid alternation between low growls and even higher pitched screams (sounding like being strangled to death) was quite jarring a lot of the time,. They had a lot of admirers in the crowd so they definitely have a fan base who appreciate what they do, but deathcore just isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.
Of Mice and Men on the other hand managed to strike the right balance between their alternating vocal styles. The clean vocals were a breath of fresh air between the more aggressive screaming and loaded breakdowns.
The band proved on the night they can handle the brunt force of a more heavily screamed set and apparently their fans were up to it to. It will be really interesting to see how this pans out as they work out their new sound, minus Bourget, and what comes out as a result with their next album.
The set kicked off with the powerful ‘O.G. Loko’ and didn’t slow down for a second throughout. Austin Carlisle is an undeniably talented screamer, versatile and able to pull off forceful bellows and alternate quickly to deeper growls without missing a beat.
In “This One’s For You” he shows off his impressive lung capacity, holding a scream longer than would be thought possible.
The band, who are named after the John Steinbeck novel (which in turn found its name in a line from a Robert Burns poem) have left behind the controversy of their Attack Attack! origins (the band from whom Carlise split less than amicably a few years previous).
They have a sound of their own and are getting the recognition they deserve for it, rather than being seen as an offshoot from another band.
The Factory Theatre itself felt kind of like a high school or RSL hall which added a bit of an underground feel to it, which suited perfectly. There was however, an unusual amount of people on stage during their set, assumedly because of the venue size meaning a lack of backstage area.
This is no fault of the band’s but it added an unprofessional vibe to the entire set, like it was actually an all-ages gig at the local high school.
An encore of “Second and Sebring”, one of the group’s earliest and most popular tracks, energised the room for a final send off, creating a real heartfelt moment with the crowd calling out and obviously demonstrating an affinity with the lyrics.
The genres of post-hardcore and metalcore have copped a lot of flack – for not being ‘metal’ enough, for being too ‘emo’ – but when a whole room full of people can be brought together that’s what it’s all about.
