Of Mice & Men at Irving Plaza

Metalcore is the hybrid of heavy metal and hardcore punk. Although the ground was being set in the 1980s, metalcore developed into its own genre in the 1990s. It attracted an audience that liked its music loud, fast and extreme. This would not be the music of hit singles and radio play. It eventually reached a large and younger following through the annual summer Van Warped Tours.

Of Mice & Men from Costa Mesa, California, has discovered how to make metalcore for a larger audience. While remaining faithful to the hard edge of metal and punk, the band has been able to compose anthems with sing-along choruses, an approach avoided by most metalcore leaders. Vocalist and band founder Austin Carlile, formerly of Attack! Attack!, spent much of the concert at Irving Plaza tonight integrated the audience into the performance. Of Mice and Men returns to New York, opening for A Day to Remember at the Best Buy Theater, on March 26.