Review Summary: 'Cold World' is not only Of Mice and Men's worst album to date, but is one of the worst albums of 2016 so far.
Even though Of Mice and Men have never really been the best metalcore band out there, they've undoubtedly released some quality songs and albums in the past. For example, their debut album as well as 'The Flood' were both enjoyable and successful. And even though 'Restoring Force' was met with mixed reviews, it was still a fun album to listen to. Unfortunately, 'Cold World' sees the band stooping down to new lows they had never even come close to before. At this point of their career, they seemed to have the potential to redefine their sound and surprise all the naysayers by releasing a solid and heavy 4th album. However, it almost seems as if everyone in the band, maybe with the exception of lead vocalist Austin Carlile, has lost all interest in trying to make good music. Not only is 'Cold World' a bad album, but what's most insulting of all is the fact that it doesn't even sound as if Of Mice and Men were trying to make a good album in the first place.
First of all, 'Cold World' actually opens up with a couple decent songs. "Game Of War" is probably the most well-written song off the album, and features some chilling vocals from Aaron Pauley, even if the low-tuned baseline and steady drum beat gets repetitive and boring after a couple minutes. "The Lie" is easily the best song off of 'Cold World' and is the only real metalcore track off the album. Even though the chorus features some pretty bland instrumentals, Carlile steals the show with his aggressive and fast fry screams.
From that point on though, the album fails in nearly every way. While each song has its own annoyances, there are a few problems that plague the entire album as a whole. For starters, the instrumentals seem as uninspired as they've ever been. The choruses of "Real," "Like A Ghost," "Down the Road," and "Away" all feature similarly bland power chords backed by simple drumming. Even the heavier songs like "Pain" and "Contagious" are dragged down by sub-par instrumentals, even if they aren't as bad as the songs mentioned before.
Another issue that drags the album down are the universally poor vocals, from both Austin Carlile and Aaron Pauley. Carlile seems to be trying to become the band's lead vocalist, and songs such as "Like A Ghost" and "The Hunger" feature him attempting to do clean vocals. This maybe wouldn't be such a bad idea if he didn't have such cringe-worthy cleans. Take "Like A Ghost" for example. Not only is he trying to hard too make his vocals seem dark and ominous, but he can't seem to hold a tune to save his life. As for Aaron Pauley, he sounds bored and uninspired on nearly every song he's featured in. Perhaps that makes him the biggest offender, considering there were more than a few songs off 'Restoring Force' that he excelled in. As for 'Cold World,' there's not a single song I can think of where Pauley delivers impressive vocals.
One of the last universal complaints about 'Cold World' is its lackluster and cliched songwriting. By far the greatest offender is the hilariously bad 'Relentless,' which features some of the worst lyrics (as well of vocals) I've heard in a very long time:
"You talk the talk, but I walk the walk.
(He's down, he's down)
Don't get caught cold with a sneak attack.
(He's down, he's down)
I'm gonna bring the pain until you fade to black."
Other songs such as the aforementioned "Pain" and "Like A Ghost" also feature some bland, forgettable songwriting. However, unlike the vocal performances, there are a few saving graces that prevent the entirety of 'Cold World' from being poorly written. As mentioned before, "Game Of War" is surprisingly well-written and chilling, and other songs like "Transfigured" and "Contagious" feature decent lyrics.
Needless to say, 'Cold World' was a surprisingly disappointing album. While giving this album a 1 out of 5 may seem a bit harsh, it's hard to defend an album whose main issues are poor vocals, poor instrumentals, and poor songwriting. 'Cold World' managed to do the impossible: it makes 'Restoring Force' look like a masterpiece in comparison. It's hard to figure out what Of Mice and Men were thinking when they released this. Hopefully they can find a way to bounce back in the future, but in the mean time, 'Cold World' is one of the worst albums of 2016.
