Of Mice & Men – Timeless
Release Date: 26th February 2021
Label: Sharptone Records
Buy/Pre-Save
Genre: Metalcore
FFO: Bullet For My Valentine, Motionless in White, We Came as Romans, Jamie’s Elsewhere, blessthefall.
Review By: Ryan Shearer
Timeless, I believe, is meant to be Of Mice & Men’s way of saying they’ve started a new chapter of their story. Their 2019’s album EARTHANDSKY was great fun and a worthy successor to 2018’s Defy, so hopes were high for what comes next. After announcing their signing with SharpTone in January 2021, Of Mice & Men have a fresh start; a chance to try something new. That, in a nutshell, is what is so disappointing about Timeless – there isn’t much ‘new’ at all.
Timeless is the first track to introduce you to the re-invigorated band. It starts with an ambient swell for almost 30 seconds, before hitting hard into a pretty standard metalcore intro. Cool drum fills and filtered vocals accompany an infectively catchy chorus, which help to cement Timeless as a strong start. The breakdown towards the end is surprisingly emotive with atmospheric, droning guitars underpinning belligerent palm-muted riffs.
Obsolete is essentially Earth and Sky v2.0 from EARTHANDSKY. The opening riff and snare patterns are so reminiscent of Earth and Sky I thought I was listening to a reimagined version at first. The pitched screams throughout are very well executed; vocalist Aaron Pauley really gets to show off here, and it pays off hugely. His performance elevates the energy – I’d recommend getting your ears checked if you aren’t headbanging along by the end.
Anchor likes to play with you. It starts off with a melancholic, bright synth melody before tearing into a heavy guitar driven section, and then transforms back into a calm, atmospheric verse with heavily filtered vocals. It alternates between the two tonalities for a while before hitting into the signature OM&M sound.
Production is solid. Guitar and bass tones fill the space well, and the drums are loud and punchy, essential for high-energy music like this. There are some interesting electronic elements sprinkled in to add interest, especially noticeable during the outro of Obsolete – it reminded me of how Linkin Park, an inspiration for OM&M, might have gone about it during their early days.
This is one of the most frustrating reviews I’ve had to do in a long time. Don’t get me wrong, the EP is enjoyable but it just doesn’t feel like it does enough to justify… well, existing. It feels like a small collection of B-sides for a special edition of their last album. I understand that this is the first of a planned 3 EP run throughout the year, but why not hold off until there were more tracks? I suppose it could be argued that a longer EP or an album won’t have enough ROI because of the inability to tour. Was it to show their new sound under a different label? Maybe, but unlikely considering these tracks were written in the Spring of 2020. Perhaps it is to show how the band plan to evolve? Then why is there essentially nothing fresh to be found, just more of what has already come? The songs are all good in their own respect, but the EP as a standalone 13-min release doesn’t do enough to tell me why it’s here.
For fans of the band, and especially fans of their most recent albums, it is just more of what you love. Timeless is a nostalgic look back at what they have achieved rather than a glimpse into the future and, for some, that will be ideal. For others wondering what a change in record label is going to bring, you might have to wait a little longer to see any real results.
(3.5 / 5)
