Of Mice & Men, Volumes dominate at Hard Rock Cafe

"There's hope, and there is love. But there is no void that can't be covered with love."

Austin Carlile, lead singer of metalcore band Of Mice & Men, challenges you to live this way this year.

Of Mice & Men and Volumes highlighted a four-hour metal showcase at the Hard Rock Cafe on the Strip on Thursday, which also featured Capture The Crown, Texas in July and Woe, Is Me.

Here's a quick rundown:

OF MICE & MEN

After the energetic, ecstatic show, Carlile returned for two encore songs and asked the crowd, "Promise me one thing. When you go home tonight, Google the lyrics to 'The Great Hendowski,' and follow those lyrics for the rest of 2013."

The band followed the inspirational song with its hit "Second and Sebring."

Taking the mic stand and holding it toward the audience, Carlile had them sing their hearts out to the easily relatable song about losing a loved one.

The band from Costa Mesa, Calif., opened with the fan-favorite concert version of "O.G. Loko," known for featuring a clip from the Waka Flocka Flame song "Hard in da Paint" before their breakdown.

Before the Waka Flocka breakdown, Carlile ordered the crowd to form a "wall of death," in which the crowd splits in half and runs at each other on the vocalist's command. The crowd obeyed.

After a 10-second scream in "This One's For You," Carlile's voice became strained.

The concert featured all four new songs added to the reissue of the band's sophomore album.

"The Calm" set a picture of a calm place. "The Storm" brought it up a notch with Carlile's heavy vocals and unique guitar riffs from Alan Ashby and Phil Manansala. "The Flood" is a very busy, hard to understand song. "The Depths" brought the house down, kept the tempo up and brought a deep sound.

Before the last song of the set, "The Depths," Carlile threatened everyone to get down on one knee before he would perform the song.

After leaving the stage, the crowd was hungry for more.

Overall, it was an exceptional show by Of Mice & Men.

Carlile's screams were on top that night. Pauley's vocals were better than usual, but he could never compare to former vocalist/bassist Shayley Bourget. Drummer Valentino Arteaga was crazy, and flawless on the drums.

Unfortunately, the band tired about three-quarters through their set.

(Rating: 9 out of 10)

VOLUMES

Los Angeles groove metal/hardcore band Volumes didn't disappoint.

Volumes took a while with its soundcheck, but outperformed every band of the night.

"Intake" was a fan favorite. Vocalist Michael Barr dedicated it to anyone who has lost a loved one and you could feel his sentiment.

Overall, the performance was amazing. Volumes is an underrated band that focuses on fan involvement to make their shows fun.

(9.5/10)

CAPTURE THE CROWN

An electronicore/metalcore band from Australia, the first song featured generic electronic music reminiscent of a metalcore version of Enter Shikari.

Throughout the set, vocalist Jeffrey Wellfare's screams were whiny and screechy. Overall, the band's performance was weak, and had many "push pits." This is only the band's second tour and fans knew how to make the best of the show.

(6/10)

TEXAS IN JULY

Christian metalcore group Texas in July, surprisingly, is from Pennsylvania.

The best song the band played was "Cry Wolf," featuring "circle pit"-influenced, fast-paced drumming and started off with a catchy riff that could pump people up.

Turnout was low for this band - not surprising because of its mediocre stage presence, overused breakdowns, similarity to August Burns Red, screechy vocals and bad lighting.

A bright spot? The drummer was exceptional.

(5.5/10)

WOE, IS ME

The Atlanta metalcore/post-hardcore/electronicore-influenced band was average.

"Fame over Demise" contained great use of instruments and good screaming, but clean vocalist Hance Alligood didn't have the range to pull off the song.

Known for covering Ke$ha, they performed "We R Who We R" during their set. Alligood's vocals were perhaps his best effort yet.

For the final song, Woe, Is Me performed "Vengeance." The song was written and recorded with the band's three previous members about the departure of their former clean singer.

The best song of the night left the crowd wanting more.

(7/10)