OF MICE & MEN AT VOLTAGE LOUNGE IN PHILADELPHIA

With the release of their latest album ‘EARTHANDSKY’, metalcore band Of Mice & Men hit the road for an intimate tour. The band took a stop at Voltage Lounge in Philadelphia, PA with support from Bloodbather, Thousand Below, and For the Fallen Dreams. If you’re into heavy music, this is certainly the tour for you.

I’d like to start off by giving a ton of credit to the three openers on this tour. Each band got the crowd riled up and ready for Of Mice & Men. Without fail, there was always somebody starting a pit or jumping up onto the crowd at the front of the room to scream the lyrics to the frontmen. Shout out to the guy that tackled me onto the steps that lead to the balcony of the venue during Thousand Below – my bruises act as a friendly reminder of how incredibly dedicated metal fanbases are in terms of letting loose and letting the music take over your soul.

When Of Mice & Men hit the stage with “Gravedancer”, the crowd pushed up and started to go wild. As the band walked onto the stage at Voltage, a wave of nostalgia hit me. Of Mice & Men was one of my absolute favorite bands (they will always hold a special place in my heart), and it was incredible to see how their fans stuck by their side all these years. The last time I saw the band was back in 2018 when they played with blessthefall, and this time around something was very different. Front man Aaron Pauley no longer had his bass, and was solely doing vocals. I feel like putting his bass down has really allowed him to focus on strengthening his vocals and I’d say this was hands down the best I’d ever heard him on stage.

The band played their classic, energetic set performing songs such as “Warzone”, “Earth & Sky”, and “O.G. Loko”. The band kept the Waka Flocka breakdown they’re known to do during “O.G. Loko”, and an attendee who jumped up on top of the crowd had the microphone held up to his face to scream it before the crowd erupted into a pit of bodies being thrown back and forth. You could always count on OM&M to put on a great show. The band ended their set with “The Depths” and left Philadelphia yearning for them to return.