SINGLE REVIEW: Of Mice & Men – “The Depths”

Artist: Of Mice & Men
Song: The Depths
Album: The Flood (Reissue)
Label: Rise Records

Of Mice & Men released “The Depths” last week as part of a dual promotional push for the upcoming reissue of The Flood and the group’s run on Van’s Warped Tour. It is the first song to surface since cleans vocalist Shayley Bourget departed and if our traffic last week is any sign of fan reaction, another certified heavy “hit” has arrived.

But I’m not sold.

The return of Austin Carlile’s vocals to my headphones last week was one even I had bought into. While I’ve never been the biggest supporter of OM&M, The Flood put me on my ass and made me reconsider a genre I had all but written off completely. “The Depths” kicks off with much of the same energy found on that release, but with an even heavier leaning toward the bouncy nu-metal riffs that have been running amuck in the the metalcore scene over the past year. Think Slipknot meets Warped Tour, only with lyrics about having fun in the pit instead of equations involving people and how they are equivalent shit. It does not sound original or inspired, and no amount of gang vocals can cover the familiarity that oozes from each and every chord progression.

The one redeeming quality of “The Depths” is the ever-present sincerity of Austin Carlile. Even though the song is in reality little more than an anthem for the live show, Carlile still finds room to discuss his health problems over the past few years and how the support of his fans keep him going. Call him what you will, but the man is thankful and that cannot be said for every performer currently gracing the pages of your favorite alternative zine.

“The Depths” is essentially Of Mice & Men’s version of Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows’ “Scream If You’re Crazy”: A simple, albeit upbeat and fun song that live crowds can learn without much effort. I was hoping the reissue of The Flood would come with a new gem that fans can play endlessly on repeat while awaiting an legitimate new record, and perhaps one of the other three additional news track will be that track, but this is definitely not it.

Written by: James Shotwell (Twitter)

James Shotwell
Latest posts by James Shotwell (see all)
Both comments and pings are currently closed.

One Response to “SINGLE REVIEW: Of Mice & Men – “The Depths””

  1. Jakeolexyn says:

    Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows*