The popular metalcore band Of Mice and Men is back with their third studio release, entitled Restoring Force. The album came out on 1/24/2014 via Rise Records, and has quickly gained much success, hitting the #4 spot on the Billboard 200. The album succeeds The Flood and Of Mice and Men, both of which were also very popular among teenage “core” listeners and fans of Rise Records. The band has been known for Austin Carlile’s intense, high energy vocals, and some really catchy, high pitched choruses. For Restoring Force, Of Mice and Men has changed its sound to become heavier and more focused on harsh vocals, but still sticks true to their prior formula of breakdowns and face-paced drums. Has this change benefitted Of Mice and Men, or has this change made the band lose its unique identity? Read on to find out! Continue reading →

Periphery is a band well known in the metal community as one of the pioneers of the djent/progressive metal movement. They have gained a loyal and sizeable fanbase through their previous two releases, Periphery and Periphery II: This Time It’s Personal, as both albums were very innovative and successful. Clear is Periphery’s latest EP, released on 1/28/2014, via Sumerian Records. This EP is a unique release, and deviates from the standard Periphery releases in that instead of every Periphery member working on this record together, each member individually works on one song and the album is basically a collection of these tracks. Periphery has stated that this release is meant to be experimental, and not a continuation of their previous two records. I believe that this “experiment” turned out to be a massive success, as this album is able to showcase just how talented each member of Periphery is. Continue reading →