ALBUM REVIEW: Tether – Of Mice & Men
With their follow up to 2021’s Echo, OF MICE & MEN are back, and most definitely with a bang. Sometimes it can be said that when a band reaches their eighth album, they can start to feel like they’ve become stale, overstaying their welcome and “just not what they used to be”. Tether is a different story though, as the band are as fierce as ever delivering a sonic assault on the senses. From mixing and producing the record to creating the album cover, each member of the band has poured all their blood, sweat and tears into the creation of this record, with excellent results.
The album’s lead singles Warpaint, Castaway and Indigo have become instant OM&M classics in their own right; they were a great way of whetting the appetites of fans in the build up to the release of the album – Warpaint especially. It has you raring to go and almost making you don warpaint yourself to run outside and face life head on. However, once we delve into the album proper, we are treated to a treasure trove of metalcore that blends seamlessly with the atmospheric synths that never feel out of place throughout the entire record.
Starting off in a slow and brooding manner, the record welcomes listeners in with the atmospheric opening of Integration. We’re treated to a slow, brooding opener operating as a prologue for what’s to come. This one doesn’t hold back. Featuring huge pulsating drums and an anthemic chorus, it sets the standard of what is to come over the next 38 minutes, and the further you get into the album, the more you’ll find out that it isn’t just the lead singles that pack a punch.
Most notable is Eternal Pessimist, a raucous assault on the senses that takes no prisoners and is also perhaps the most intense and heaviest song on the record. It works as a perfect concoction of harsh vocals and a clean sounding anthemic chorus, and each time the song threatens to slow down you are pulled in by the unforgiving breakdowns of a swirling guitar riff that just hits the spot every time. Another stand out is Enraptured, a track that also shows no mercy, once again ramping up the intensity for the listener. The song itself feels like the lovechild of TOOL and ARCHITECTS; the echoing/haunting vocals really bring an unnerving atmosphere to it, whilst the instrumental section goes all out in an excellent bombastic fashion.
One of the most exciting aspects of Tether is the thought of seeing these songs performed live, which is a truly mouth watering prospect. Each track makes it easy to see that not only will this album work in small intimate venues, but they’re so anthemic at times, you’d want to be singing your heart out with thousands of others in a huge cavernous arena, and the best bit? They’ll have absolutely no issue transforming crowds into whirlpools of circle pits and glorious sweaty mosh pits.
Tether shows that OF MICE & MEN are at the absolute top of their game; it’s obvious that each member didn’t let a single second go to waste during the recording process and left it all in the studio. Everything about the record is done to almost perfection, although one criticism is that every now and then, particularly on the heavier sounding songs, the vocals sometimes feel like they can get lost amongst the cacophony of sound. Overall though, the album is a welcome return from the metalcore troupe; there is plenty to enjoy for old fans and it will also work as the perfect gateway for new fans they pick up along the way. By the end of it, you’ll have your own warpaint ready, hanging on and very likely screaming along to every word.
Rating: 8/10
Tether is set for release on October 6th via SharpTone Records.
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