Of Mice & Men is a metalcore band formed in Costa Mesa, California, United States in 2009 by Austin Carlile and Jaxin Hall after Carlile's departure from Attack Attack!. The name of the band is derived from John Steinbeck's novel of the same title. The current line-up consists of Carlile (ex. Attack Attack!), Phil Manansala, Valentino Arteaga (ex. Lower Definition), Aaron Pauley (ex. Jamie's Elsewhere) and Alan Ashby. Shortly after forming, Carlile and Hall enlisted the help of Though She Wrote to create their first collaborative demo track "Seven Thousand Miles for What?" and later began recruiting the remaining band members. After a short time, original guitarist Jon Kintz was replaced, solidifying the line up with Valentino Arteaga on drums, Shayley Bourget (ex. Covette) on guitar and vocals, and Phil Manansala (ex. A Static Lullaby) on guitar. The band then set about creating their self-titled debut album, released in March 2010 via Rise Records. After heart surgery ahead of a gruelling tour schedule and growing tensions within the band forced Carlile to step down, former Sky Eats Airplane vocalist Jerry Roush took up his duties in 2010. This sparked a string of line-up changes that saw the departure of founding member Jaxin Hall, movement of Bourget from rhythm guitar to bass, the recruitment of an entirely new member in Alan Ashby and culminating in Carlile's return to the mic in 2011. Between touring that year the band completed work on their sophomore effort, The Flood which would later be reissued in a deluxe format featuring 4 extra tracks in 2012. Early that year Bourget left the band due to personal issues and at present Carlile has taken over all vocal duties. Third album is called Restoring Forces debut in 2014
