Review by Shadowdoom9 (Andi) for Of Mice & Men - The Flood (2011)
Founded by unclean vocalist Austin Carlile in 2009, shortly after leaving Attack Attack! following that band's debut Someday Came Suddenly, Of Mice & Men started off with melodic post-hardcore in their 2010 debut, following the footsteps of that Attack Attack! album, albeit without the autotune and trance-y dance-y synths. Of Mice & Men's second album The Flood began their full display of the more metallic sound the band would be known for, and what a perfect leap of faith it is!
Before recording, Carlile and co-founder bassist Jaxin Hall both left after the debut, the former for a major heart surgery. The band made a cover of Jamie Foxx's "Blame It" with two different members. Then Carlile rejoined and the band brought in rhythm guitarist Alan Ashby, in time to record this album taking the metalcore realm by storm.
You can already hear the massive step up at the start of "O.G. Loko" (referencing an illegal alcoholic drink, though I think of that cartoon Code Lyoko). The tempo drives through alongside the destructive screamed vocals and energetic riffs. It also hints at a bit of the nu metal in later releases, and that's the kind of blend to expect from that year's Emmure album Speaker of the Dead. Absolutely heavy fury to give The Flood the redemption value it already has. There's more momentum in "Ben Threw" (a pun on the phrase "been through" and Carlile's pet cat Ben) throwing their fast metalcore sound into your face like a thousand pies. "Let Live" balances on the line between the hardcore of The Chariot and the melody of Atreyu. The anthemic "Still YDG'n" continues the "YDG" (Ya Dig?!) saga and is a much better deal than the first one in their debut.
"My Understandings" is a beautiful mellow ballad that can work as this album's intermission. Crashing back into heaviness, "Ohioisonfire" is a destructive standout. The guitar duo's wizardry and Valentino Arteaga's drumming build up this wall of sound topped off by Carlile's mind-f***ing screams. "Purified" is another one of many great highlights here. "Product of a Murderer" is an interesting one. The sound is much darker and heavier, coming close to the deathcore of Despised Icon and Impending Doom. However, the guitar melodies and clean singing in the chorus prevent the song from going that far.
There starts to be a bit of familiarity with the earlier post-hardcore in "Repeating Apologies" that can still touch your heart with its bridge. Fortunately, "The Great Hendowski" reminds you from the starting riff that the album still has immense greatness. Then they really tear things apart in "I'm a Monster" with the most intense heaviness around. "When You Can't Sleep at Night" is an acoustic bonus track in the CD edition which is OK but doesn't add much. The perfect 5-star rating is for the edition without that track.
The following year, the band recorded 4 new tracks for a extended re-release of The Flood. Bassist/clean vocalist Shayley Bourget had already left the band, so Carlile's screams became the sole main vocal style for those tracks, and Ashby took over on bass.
The first new track, "The Calm" is a calm two-minute interlude. If the tracks were part of the original album instead of its own CD, that would nicely segue from that acoustic song. Then comes "The Storm" with its melodic intro before becoming another monstrous force. Despite the lack of clean singing, the screams themselves make perfect stylistic transition between shrieks and growls. The ravenous title track is probably the best of the entire offering. The gang vocals alternating with the screams, along with the vicious breakdowns, shall make mosh pits almost as huge as a black hole. What a shame that track didn't end up in the main album. Final track "The Depths" is not as interesting as the other new tracks, but there's not much bad about it at all. Carlile orders you to jump, sing, and scream with him, like a metalcore drill sergeant. And you can scream along to the chorus, "My body’s failing, I think I’ve hit the floor, I cannot feel anything anymore", despite how cheesy the lyrics often get.
Scr*w the debut! The Flood is where Of Mice & Men's journey really begins as a huge step from their earlier post-hardcore sh*t. You can have fun jamming along to the melodic main album and then destroy everything with their brutal bonus CD in the reissue. You can never forget this band's passion and perseverance!
Favorites: "O.G. Loko", "Still YDG'n", "Ohioisonfire", "Purified", "The Great Hendowski", "I'm a Monster", "The Storm", "The Flood"