You're Not Alone - Of Mice & Men (Song Review)
“You’re Not Alone” is the first single released from the upcoming third album titled Restoring Force due out January 28, 2014 in the United States from California natives, Of Mice & Men. The track starts out with what we are used to hearing; heavy guitars and drum beats joined quickly by the screams of front man Austin Carlile. The theme of the song is clearly set in the first verse, ‘you’re not alone you’re with me’, which leads into Aaron Pauley’s voice on the chorus. Pauley who is bassist as well as backup vocals on this album contributes clean vocals, at least for this song; though it was mentioned earlier in the year Carlile would be doing both vocal styles this album, however you don’t judge a book by its cover, and you don’t base an album off of one song. The entire theme of the song is uplifting and inspiring, despite the way the message is presented which seems to be almost trademark OM&M style; it makes you really sit down and listen and look at the lyrics. The chorus is a great representation of the song and its message; ‘don’t let the world bring you down, there’s always hope for the willing. Don’t let the world bring you down, it’s not over, you’re not alone anymore’, it’s something everyone needs to hear every now and then, the entire song is actually. Though many fans aren’t excited about the new, almost calmer sound this single seems to have, with comments such as ‘it’s not as good as I expected’, ‘very general, nothing unique’, which may be so, as fans are expecting something similar to The Flood which was an extremely heavy and emotional album. Carlile comments on this via their Facebook page stating, “What happens after a disaster? What happens after The Flood? You return to normal. You find balance again. That’s what we felt like we were doing with this album. We wanted this record to bring equilibrium back to our band and music. We’re letting everyone know that we’re here to stay. We’re Restoring Force.” So it may well be that this album won’t be what one YouTube commenter referred to as ‘the Flood part II’, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be a crap shoot. Does that mean they’ll be balancing out the heavier past with a little bit smoother and calmer present? Who knows. With negative comes positive, there are just as many people excited and happy about ‘You’re Not Alone’ than there are the ones putting their noses up at it. Personally I’m still unsure about how I feel about it, it’s a great song with a great message, but I always seem to be with the group expecting the same if not heavier, solely based on past albums. Either way, the band, as well as many fans are extremely excited for Restoring Force to release in late January. Carlile stated via Twitter ‘It’s better than bacon. Yes I said it.’ in response to a fan asking for a good reason to preorder. With a promise like that, maybe it really is going to blow everyone away. Let’s face it, when a man says something is better than any kind of meat, it’s pretty darn good. Rating: 3.5/5 - Originally it was only going to be 3/5, but the more I’ve been listening, the more it’s been growing on me. I’m still unsure if I’m totally in love with it, or if I think it’s ‘just okay’. I adore the lyrics, though again musically I was expecting heavier. And yes, I have preordered and I’m very excited! Have you Preordered yours? Preorder: Restoring Force - OF MICE & MEN(http://ofmice.merchnow.com/) Buy a Ticket to their upcoming tour with Bring Me The Horizon! (http://www.bringmethehorizon.co.uk/gigs/)
