A decibel-crushing Southern California metalcore outfit with grunge and nu-metal influences,
Of Mice & Men was formed in 2009 by ex-
Attack Attack! vocalist and bassist
Austin Carlile and New Zealand-born bass player Jaxin Hall. The group broke into the hard rock mainstream in 2011 with the release of their third full-length outing,
Restoring Force, which marked the debut of clean vocalist
Aaron Pauley.
Pauley eventually took over vocal and bass duties from
Carlile, the latter of whom left the fold in 2016 due to health issues. The group continued to dole out powerful LPs through the end of the decade, including 2019's
Earth & Sky and 2021's Echo.
With a rotating cast of players featuring
Carlile (lead vocals),
Alan Ashby (rhythm guitar),
Phil Manansala (lead guitar),
Aaron Pauley (bass, vocals), and
Valentino Arteaga (drums), the band released its eponymous debut long-player through
Rise Records in 2010. Their sophomore effort,
The Flood, appeared in 2011, with a deluxe reissue following a year later. The group brought in
David Bendeth (
Beartooth,
Bring Me the Horizon,
Crossfaith) to produce third LP
Restoring Force, which was released in 2014 and became their most successful outing to date, charting both at home and abroad. Their first live recording,
Live at Brixton, appeared in May 2016. Their fourth studio effort,
Cold World, arrived later that year, peaking inside the Top 40.
On December 30, 2016,
Carlile announced that he would part ways with the band due to continued complications caused by his struggles with a rare genetic disorder.
Pauley took over as vocalist and the band forged ahead, releasing the singles "Unbreakable" and "Back to Me."
Of Mice & Men issued
Defy, their fifth studio album and the first without
Carlile, in early 2018.
Pauley remained at the helm for 2019's
Josh Wilbur-produced
Earth & Sky, which saw the band deliver their heaviest batch of songs yet. Switching from
Rise to the SharpTone label,
Of Mice & Men issued the
Timeless EP in February 2021, followed by two more EPs, Bloom and Ad Infinitum. All three releases were compiled on the band's seventh full-length effort, Echo, later that year. ~ James Christopher Monger