WATCH “FIGHTING GRAVITY” VIDEO
OF MICE & MEN ANNOUNCE ECHO
NEW ALBUM OUT DECEMBER 3 VIA SHARPTONE
BAND SHARES “FIGHTING GRAVITY” VIDEO
Gold-selling hard rockers Of Mice & Men — Aaron Pauley (bass + vocals ), Valentino Arteaga (drums), Alan Ashby (guitar), and Phil Manansala (guitar) — are pleased to announce their seventh album Echo, out December 3 via SharpTone Records.
The album is comprised of the previously issued Timeless and Bloom EPs, along with the new and final Ad Infinitum EP. The EP will be released on vinyl in April 2022.
The full Echo album track listing is below. Pre-order the album digitally here.The physical pre-order will go live on Friday, October 22, at the same link.
The band has also shared the video for latest single “Fighting Gravity.” Watch it here.
“‘Fighting Gravity’ is about learning to let go, while also recognizing the impermanence and shortness of life,” says Pauley. “We think we’re in control of so much, but we’re really not, and that existential dilemma is at the foundation of the human condition.”
Of Mice & Men exclusive discussed the record and its unique, EP-driven rollout over at Loudwire. Read it here.
“Echo is a snapshot of the last year-and-a-half of our lives,” the band says, summing the album up effectively. “It covers loss and growth, life and impermanence, love, and the infinite — how the most wonderful and most tragic parts of the human experience are deeply intertwined.”
The Southern California-based quartet used their time spent in the 2020 lockdown, which was the result of the COVID-19 pandemic, in an incredibly productive way. They recorded all of the music on Echo during that time by working remotely via Zoom and sharing files. They had not been in the same room together since February 2020 and the start of the global shutdown.
The album was entirely self-produced by the band, and mixed and master by Pauley. Echo also includes the band’s take on the Crosby, Stills, and Nash track “Helplessly Hoping,” which closes out the release.
As is the case with all previous 2021 music drops, the artwork (pictured below) was designed by the iconic artist Derek Hess.
ECHO TRACK LISTING:
“Timeless”
“Obsolete”
“Anchor”
“Levee”
“Bloom”
“Pulling Teeth”
“Mosaic”
“Fighting Gravity”
“Echo”
“Helplessly Hoping”
AD INFINITUM EP TRACK LISTING:
“Mosaic”
“Fighting Gravity”
“Echo”
“Helplessly Hoping”
ABOUT OF MICE & MEN:
At its best, heavy music produces songs of escape and catharsis. Few bands demonstrate this ethos as powerfully as Of Mice & Men, the multifaceted metalcore machine whose mission is to make the soundtrack for every heartbreak, melancholic rumination, and moment of triumph. It’s a potent and perfect storm of elements. A bombastic and uplifting roar familiar to fans of Linkin Park; a layered crunch akin to the Deftones; thrashing old school riffage a la Slayer and Exodus; the sensual atmosphere of Sade or Radiohead; swirled into a singular sound uniquely OM&M.
Across a half-dozen studio albums, the group’s combination of crowd-moving breakdowns, staccato rhythms, and soaring melodic vocals bridged the gap from the underground to the world at large. Their songs catapulted them onto massive tours with Linkin Park and Rise Against (2015); Slipknot (2016); and Five Finger Death Punch and In Flames (2017).
At every turn, no matter what obstacles presented themselves, the four men at the Of Mice & Men core since 2016 never lost sight of the strength of their connection to the audience or each other. They refocused and persevered at every turn, delivering massive anthems that work in the most intimate of punk clubs, the biggest of European festivals, and American rock radio formats alike. It’s all about the songs themselves and what they mean to people at the end of the day. The music of Of Mice & Men begins as something deeply personal shared among the quartet. Once they’re turned loose, they take on new meaning, adding to the soundtrack of people’s lives.
