On January 28, Of Mice and Men released their third album, “Restoring Force.” The title is a reference to their last album, “The Flood.” In an interview with Big Cheese Magazine, front man Austin Carlile explained the name came from the idea that, after a storm, you return to normal and find equilibrium.  Somewhat fitting, since this is the first album released after bassist/clean vocalist Shayley Bourget amicably left last February.

The album balances its original sound and a new structure to provide a sound that can be described as nu metal, a style that bands such as Korn, Limp Bizkit, and Linkin Park are known for. It’s a style that mixes traditional metal and hardcore punk, with elements from other styles of music, like rock, hip-hop and grunge.

According to Carlile, they are trying to break out of the box they’ve been in.  They have developed a style that will make their music friendlier to a greater range of listeners. They released the first single in December, “You’re Not Alone,” to positive reviews.

The single still preserves some of their metal sound, but introduces more clean singing. Other songs, like “Feels Like Forever”, demonstrate cleaner singing, too. Something unexpected was waiting at the end of the album: the slow ballad finale, “Space Enough to Grow.”

I’m not a fan of the music found on their first two albums, so I found myself pleasantly surprised when listening to this album. I even found myself moving to the beat of “You’re Not Alone.” If their original fans wonder if they have changed too much, they need only listen to “Public Service Announcement,” “Bones Exposed,” or “Glass Hearts” to know that Of Mice And Men still retains the sound that they came to love. Of Mice and Men just has added to that sound to create music that breaks out of their box of metalcore music to a nu metal sound, to attract more listeners for their future albums.