Review Summary: The light is warm but the shadow remains
It's been quite the whirlwind for
Of Mice and Men lately; following former vocalist Austin Carlile's departure, Aaron Pauley took up the mantle as sole vocalist for the band, and 2018's
Defy left a bad first impression; it seemed that the band would continue further down the unfitting (and quite frankly unnecessary) nu metal revival path laid down by
Cold World. Leading up to the release of
Earthandsky, however, Pauley declared that it would be much heavier than the previous two duds, and unlike many artists who make those ridiculous claims he wasn't lying; the album is indeed a lot heavier than the last two. But is it better, or is it another chapter of the decline of a once-consistently great metalcore band?
Opening track "Gravedancer" bursts right out with some of Aaron Pauley's best screams in years. Unfortunately, the rest of the band isn't quite in the shape he is just yet; Phil Manansala and Alan Ashby sound like they're under the impression that they're still recording
Defy, and Valentino Artega's drumming is nothing more than your standard Rise-core drumming. It isn't until "Taste of Regret" where the instrumentalists really kick into gear, but unfortunately the song still can't climb out of generic territory; Pauley's cleans are nothing to shout at, and his lyrics are also what you've come to expect from the band ("And every time I think about the words you've said / I'm reminded just to bite my tongue instead / Until every last lyric's left covered in red / Because the taste of blood is better than the taste, better than the taste of regret"). It isn't until "Mushroom Cloud" when everyone gets on the same page and comes together to create something great. From this point on the band is consistent, and these moments are where
Earthandsky truly shine; it meshes every style from their past albums, amps up the heaviness, and creates a melodic metalcore album that is actually fairly solid. "How To Survive" closes out
Earthandsky with a bang as Pauley screams his lungs out in a top-tier performance while the rest of the band pour their everything into the best song they've produced thus far.
The production is textbook scene production and probably the album's biggest fault; Josh Wilbur doesn't bring anything new to the table and doesn't subvert or avert any of the tropes you've come to expect for scene bands; bass is still drowned out and there's still a heavy focus on vocals and guitars. Nevertheless,
Earthandsky is definitely the beginning of a resurgence for the band. They're patching up the holes that
Cold World and
Defy left into the ship, and if they continue on the path that this album is lying down, they could heal the wounds that the past two albums left and become a melodic metalcore beast. It's still too early to tell if this is indeed only the beginning of the repairs, but there looks to be a light at the end of this tunnel.
