Of Mice And Men formed in 2009 after frontman Austin Carlile was kicked out of his old band Attack Attack! Named after the John Steinbeck novella that I’m sure you all did to death in Year 11 the band had an almost immediate fan following as Carlile already had a massive fan base. Attack Attack! have become less and less popular whilst Of Mice & Men’s popularity has grown to massive proportions. The band’s self-titled debut released in 2010 was met with acclaim from critics and fans alike and cemented the band as one of the heroes of metalcore.

Opening song YDG (standing for Yadig?) created its own internet slang (e.g. I love this song! YDG?) and is a blistering track filled to breaking point with riffs and breakdowns. Carlile’s vocals push the tempo along whilst bassist and clean vocalist Shayley Bourget brings the melodic vocals and keeps the track from being a bog standard metalcore affair. Infamous live track They Don’t Call It The South For Nothing is a song written for chant along crowds. The guitars and riffs cut off and the drums smash along as Carlile screams “I said I’d fight back! I didn’t say that I’d fight fair!” I’ll be seeing them at the end of April and can safely say I’ll be screaming along with the rest of the crowd when this track is played.

Second and Sebring is a personal track about Carlile’s mother who died when he was younger of a heart problem  that he would later be afflicted by.Bourget’s clean vocals take a centre role here with Carlile’s screams being pushed to backing on the track. The heartfelt lyrics “This is not what it is, only baby scars. I need your love like a boy needs his mother’s side” could move even the most brutal loving metalcore fan. The Ballad of Tommy Clayton & the Rawdawg Millionaire is a really fast moving mosh along track about a girl who is slowly killing herself with her lifestyle. Yet again Bourget brings the melodic, heartfelt lyrics “Oh faithful I’m amazed to find you look that way. Oh faithful put away the pills, come waste away with me” whilst Carlile brings the venom “You see these hospital walls are full from the bodies of all the dead. It’s spreading around the room just like you”.

I give this album seven out of ten. Not many bands release a full length album foregoing an EP to such an excellent standard and widespread acclaim. However the tracks I reviewed are by far the best whilst the other tracks are filler which can get boring. Of Mice And Men have achieved the perfect blend of unique screams and heartfelt clean vocals. The breakdowns are catchy, the bass is heavy and the drums are superb. Of Mice And Men are pushing the metalcore genre to new levels and are above their American peers in every way.