Of Mice & Men – Echo CD (SharpTone Records)

Of Mice & Men came a long way from their inception in 2009 to the present day. If you take a look at their impressive discography, you’ll probably have many difficulties while searching for weak spots. For those who are somehow stumbling upon this superb band for the first time, Of Mice & Men released full-lengths such as a self-titled debut, The Flood, Restoring Force, Cold World, Defy, Earthandsky, and Echo. Not to forget a live album recorded in Brixton and many singles unleashed between all these full-lengths. Of Mice & Men always kept their career as prolific as possible, but everything they put out sounded superb. That’s the case with Echo, their latest full-length that I will be talking about today.

I am a bit late to the party with this one since Echo came out in 2021, but better late than never. As far as I am informed, this material gathered many positive critics from the media and metalcore community. The band and record label heavily promoted this album over the web and social media with Obsolete, Timeless, Bloom, and Mosaic, four exceptional singles serving as perfect examples of their brilliance. Of Mice & Men was always the band that knew how to combine several complementary music genres, tweak them to their likeness, and adjust them to enhance their version of metalcore sound. Besides the sheer dominance of metalcore, you may notice some of the best properties of post-hardcore, alternative metal, nu metal, and hard rock. The band took a step further with this album, and you may hear additional ambient, drone, and experimental soundscapes, loops, samples, and other similar sonic delicacies. These enhancements work like a charm over those heavy metalcore foundations, and you’ll have a hard time picking any other band that does this style better than them.

Of Mice & Men know what they’re doing with their music. Each album is proof of it. That’s the case with Echo as well. The band paid an equal amount of time and effort to each composition, so there’s no decline in quality here. Every number has a perfect song structure, cleverly assembled segments, rhythmic sequences, vocal parts, themes, melodies, harmonies, chord progressions, riffs, shreds, and basslines. You’ll be blown away by clever ideas invested into Echo, and the exceptional musicianship was never a question when we’re talking about this band. These experienced musicians burst with all the possible qualities you could think of at the moment. Also, I have to commend the sound engineer, producer, and other people involved for delivering the top-notch quality of each involved instrument. You have to check out Echo if you’re into modern metalcore sound because this material has many incredible moments where your jaw will drop on the floor. Head to SharpTone Records for more information about ordering.