Alec Evans chatted to bassist/vocalist Aaron Pauley from Californian metallers Of Mice & Men, ahead of their sold out GB Live show at Cardiff’s Great Hall.
You are currently touring the USA with the UKÔÇÖs Bring Me the Horizon. Are they a good band to have as touring partners?
Aaron Pauley (Bass, clean vocals): Oh, absolutely! ItÔÇÖs funny too, because weÔÇÖre from California so our humour is very similar but also very different to them. TheyÔÇÖre from Sheffield, we always rag on each other and joke and stuff and they always just take the piss out of each other, itÔÇÖs really been funny, ÔÇÿcause I think itÔÇÖs been something that has definitely crossed into both bands, weÔÇÖre now on tour, weÔÇÖre always just messing with each other.
Bring Me The HorizonÔÇÖs latest album Sempiternal made a big impact when it was released last year in the UK (#3 in album chart). Did the positive reaction to that album make you expect a similar level of success with your new album?
AP: ItÔÇÖs been crazy, the overall reception of the record, we took a bit of a leap of faith into doing something thatÔÇÖs a bit different and unexpected, but so far the receptionÔÇÖs just been great.
New album ÔÇÿRestoring ForceÔÇÖ was released in January. YouÔÇÖve worked with producer David Bendeth, who was responsible for albums such as ParamoreÔÇÖs breakthrough album Riot (2007). How much of an influence was he towards some of the more mainstream rock choruses on the album?
AP: ThatÔÇÖs something that we wanted and he helped us facilitate that by teaching us what it means to actually write a chorus and have a hook that actually hooks people vs just singing parts. ThereÔÇÖs not a lot of times where bands like us get to work with someone like him. We want to have giant choruses and we want to have songs that build and we want to have quality song-writing that we grew to love for listening to a lot of the bands that heÔÇÖs worked with [Bring Me The Horizon, A Day To Remember, Kaiser Chiefs, Papa Roach]┬áor just bands in general, so a huge opportunity. I wouldnÔÇÖt say that he influenced necessarily that sound, because that was just something that we wanted going in, but he definitely helped us facilitate he was definitely a great teacher and a great coach in getting the best out of us.
What track on the new album do you think best sums up Of Mice & Men as a band in 2014?
AP: ThatÔÇÖs really hard, when we wrote the album, we didnÔÇÖt really go in thinking we wanted the album to sound like this, we went in and kinda just wrote songs. ThatÔÇÖs really, really hard to say, but right now ÔÇÿWould You Still Be ThereÔÇÖ, itÔÇÖs been on radio and itÔÇÖs been getting a lot of airplay and itÔÇÖs been doing a lot of big things for our band so maybe IÔÇÖll say that one.
There are pretty noticeable influences from the nu metal sounds of Linkin Park, Deftones, etc. on the new album. Do you think thereÔÇÖs less of a negative attitude to nu-metal in 2014 than there was several years ago?
AP: I donÔÇÖt know, I wouldnÔÇÖt say that weÔÇÖre very much a nu-metal band, there are definitely nuances, but weÔÇÖre very much more just a hard rock band. I know some bands nowadays that get a little bit more into the nu-metal realm with some backlash, but weÔÇÖve teetered on to the sounds our fans grew to love from us, thereÔÇÖs just hints of it here and there. So far, thereÔÇÖs not really been any negative backlash associated with it, I know it becomes ÔÇÿtabooÔÇÖ to say somethingÔÇÖs nu-metal. We wanted to stay Of Mice & Men but write a hard rock album instead of a metalcore album.
YouÔÇÖre playing a sold-out show at Cardiff Student UnionÔÇÖs Great Hall on 23rd April 2014. What are your hopes for your first show in Wales?
AP: ThatÔÇÖll be a good one! Hopes for the show, I mean we love touring in the UK and weÔÇÖve got a brand new record, itÔÇÖs going to be our first UK headlining run since having the record out, so weÔÇÖre going to be great having songs that weÔÇÖve never played before in the States or anywhere else. ItÔÇÖll be good to reconnect with our fans out there.
Was the low ticket price (£12 face value) a reaction to high cost of tickets for some bands?
AP: No, we donÔÇÖt really handle that, as far as pricing goes, but some shows are insanely expensive and something our band has always done is kept it affordable, ÔÇÿcause we have a lot of kids as fans.
YouÔÇÖre doing your first major UK festival headlining the lock-up stage at Reading & Leeds this year. How are you expecting it to differ to Slam Dunk and Hit the Deck Festival that youÔÇÖve done here in the past?
AP: ThatÔÇÖs gonna be insane! You know, for all of us, being onstage with the five of us and when weÔÇÖre all together, it really all kinda feels the same, it doesnÔÇÖt feel that different going from small clubs to giant festivals. I mean the UKÔÇÖs always shown us love, and festivals there, you know, go off, so itÔÇÖll be awesome. IÔÇÖm hoping so, and if not, then whatever, weÔÇÖll just rock it the same way we rock it.
Why should Quench readers unfamiliar with your bandÔÇÖs music be paying attention to Of Mice & Men in 2014?
AP: Honestly, itÔÇÖs really up to them, but ‘Restoring Force’ is a very honest, very non-contrived rock album, and so if theyÔÇÖre into rock music, anything from the late-90ÔÇÖs on, thereÔÇÖs something they can find, to come back to what I said, when we wrote this album, we didnÔÇÖt set out to say ÔÇÿwe need an album that sounds like thisÔÇÖ, instead we said ÔÇÿwe want an album full of great songs that we want to writeÔÇÖ, each individual song sounds a little bit different, so honestly, thereÔÇÖs something in it for everybody. WeÔÇÖve got a lot of big plans coming up, a lot of big plans for 2015 too, so if youÔÇÖre into rock music, you gotta come check us out!
Is there anything else youÔÇÖd like to say to Quench readers?
AP: Just that weÔÇÖre super excited to come back, weÔÇÖve always had a great time. Music is still very much alive and well out in the UK, and rock musicÔÇÖs making a comeback in the US, but it never really went away over there.