Of Mice & Men release first track since Carlile’s departure

A still from the video

Of Mice & Men have released a video for their new track Unbreakable.

It’s the US outfit’s first material since vocalist Austin Carlile left the band in December last year.

They decided to carry on as a four-piece after Carlile made the decision to leave due to his health issues caused by Marfans Syndrome – although the singer later said one of the reasons he quit was because the band “weren’t going to let me write what I wanted on next record.”

Of Mice & Men’s lineup now features bassist and lead vocalist Aaron Pauley, drummer Valentino Arteaga along with guitarist Alan Ashby and Phil Manansala.

And Pauley says it’s still hard to think about moving on without Carlile in the lineup.

He tells the BBC’s Rock Show with Daniel P Carter: “If you followed the media reports over the past year along with Austin’s statement, about having to leave because of his health. I think we… I don’t know. It’s hard to talk about. It’s still not an easy thing to think about the future without him.

“One of the things that Austin expressed to us was that he really wanted us to keep going. He didn’t really want this to slow anything down as far as playing shows or anything else. For us, we took a few days to decide that.”

Unbreakable is now available to purchase, while the band are gearing up for a run of shows across North America and Europe.

Of Mice & Men 2017 tour dates

Apr 29: Fort Myers Fort Rock Festival, FL
Apr 30: Jacksonville Welcome To Rockville, FL
May 06: Charlotte Carolina Rebellion, NC
May 13: Somerset Northern Invasion, WI
May 19: Columbus Rock On The Range, OH
Jun 08: Interlaken Greenfield Festival, Switzerland
Jun 10: Download Festival, UK
Jun 12: Paris Petit Bain, France
Jun 13: Villeurbanne Longlive Rockfest, France
Jun 14: Milan In.Fest Music Festival, Itlay
Jun 16: Nickelsdorf Nova Rock Festival, Austria
Jun 17: Dessel Graspop, Belgium
Jun 18: Clisson Hellfest, France
Jun 19: Strasbourg La Laiterie, France
Jun 20: Worgl Komma, Austria
Jun 22: Grafenhainichen With Full Force Festival, Germany
Jun 23: Neuhausen Ob Eck Southside Festival, Germany
Jun 24: Ysselsteyn Jera On Air, Netherlands
Jun 25: Scheessel Hurricane Festival, Germany
Jun 28: Sopron Volt Festival, Hungary
Jun 29: Scheessel Bravalla Festival, Germany
Jun 30: Roskilde Festival, Denmark
Jul 01: Munster Vainstream Rockfest, Germany
Jul 15: Quebec City Festival d’ete de Quebec, QC

Of Mice & Men’s Ashby insists Carlile wasn’t kicked out

Scott has spent 36 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, highlights deals, and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 11 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from news and features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.