By Jase Walker
December has rolled around and evidently Tilburg has decided it’s going to hoover up most of the remaining shows of the year so I’ve gritted my teeth and made peace with the lost sleep for the sake of a good show. Tonight finds me back in 013 on the NEXT stage for Of Mice & Men as the stomp around Europe in the lead up to Christmas with Ghøstkid and Gore in tow to complete a nice varied package!
To say I’m a bit hyped to see Gore finally is a tiny bit of an understatement but here we go! They silently walk on and quietly ask “Can I get another wooo?” and seem taken back by the response. Going off this start I think it’s probably pretty likely that many others here are buzzed for these too. For an opening band these sound massive too, their low grinding guitar and bass mixed with contrasting bright sound drums pops just right.
The focal point of the stage is most definitely their vocalist, her mixed vocals style that jumps back and forth between high and sweet and downright gruesome gutturals. There’s echoes of Spiritbox, Sleep Token, Loathe and Dayseeker in their sound, that sort of vibe that effortlessly weaves pop moments together with disgustingly heavy moments.
God, I’ve been looking forward to seeing these live since I randomly came across their EP, ‘A Bud That Never Blooms’, last year and have absolutely rinsed it along with their latest EP, ‘If You Do Not Fear Me’. Their vocalist makes a quick mention that we’re getting a full playthrough of the latter EP too which I’m pretty damn happy about too because it’s a real banger collection of songs. And as always with these sorts of opening slots, especially for a band I am a huge fan of, it was over too fast and serves as an appetizer for what’s to come in future. Also fuck me they sounded incredible, good god.
Next up is Ghøstkid, announcing their beginning with the room darkening and the drums lighting up with a selection of LED strips around the rims while deep music pulses from the speakers. Admittedly compared to Gore, the sound is a bit thin and there’s some really weird reverb going on with the drums that’s strongly audible compared to the rest of the band.
The crowd response is… not good either, there’s a very visible drop in enthusiasm for Ghøstkid barring a few around the front of the crowd. The microphone keeps cutting out randomly also in addition to the overall fairly weak sound and I’m a bit puzzled at how messy this set is sounding, it’s clearly not helping the crowd get into it either. The brief quip about there not being much stage space is also a bit puzzling because I’ve seen bands with more members make pretty good use of it and Gore prior didn’t have much issues moving around either. To the bass player’s credit, getting stuck into the crowd and forcefully yanking people into a circle pit has done well to get a solid group on side while he rocks out in the middle of it.
As the sets moved on the crowds warmed to them a bit as the initial sound issues have been adjusted and fixed so there’s a much fuller sound that’s carrying the energy a lot better. Some flashes of mosh pit action here and there too in the middle but overall generally the crowd seems a bit indifferent to the band and for myself I’m feeling pretty similar. It’s not the first time I’ve seen Ghøstkid and I don’t doubt they’ll end up on other show lineups over the future but this time has pretty solidly confirmed that I’ll probably swerve them if I have the option. I don’t think their material really works for me ultimately, that along with the fairly unengaging live show has made this set a miss for me unfortunately.
Just prior to the band actually starting, the singer of Of Mice & Men randomly jumps on stage to get a quick cheer from the crowd before dipping backstage again saying he’ll be back soon. Blasting an orchestral entry to signal their start, I can feel the buzz in the atmosphere slowly building as well as seeing a bunch of phones go up across the crowd to record the beginnings of the show.
The first riff hits, immediately followed up by an immensely strong bass drop which repeats a few times and rattles my chest and neck. These guys are going straight for the throat from the start and pulling no punches. We are so back. The middle of the crowd is already an ever growing blur of faces and arms as the moshpit kicks off.
As with a lot of productions in 2025, the backing lights are immensely bright to the point of being a bit blinding so I find myself getting randomly flashbanged. Admittedly I didn’t expect to get such a huge throwback almost immediately at the start of the set with ‘Feels Like Forever’, I thought they’d fully dumped this from their set permanently but welcome back I guess, what a riff and chorus!
I’ve really gotta say that these sound absolutely fantastic tonight, a fantastic mix that’s every bit as bright and clear as it is meaty. The riffs cut through just right, the vocals could maybe be a touch louder but that’s mainly just my preference and the drums drive things along. The centre of the crowd does keep kicking off pits but seemingly the people around it aren’t super keen so it keeps disappearing.
At one point there’s an audible pop and the sound suddenly stops out of nowhere, a few dash over to what looks to be their PA rig but this gets seen to pretty quickly and someone from the audience clearly shouts out “happens to the best of us don’t worry!”. Anyway on with the show, a gigantic void opens and in moments they all smash into each other in the middle while Of Mice & Men absolutely fucking kill it on stage.
It really felt with reviewing their latest album that these guys had really found their groove again and have a proper grip on what made the band fantastic in the first place and are truly running with it, and with this live show I can definitely confirm that it’s absolutely the case. There’s something so clean and professional about their delivery, the lack of pretense and feeling of humility that really translates fantastically well in their performance. It reminds me a lot of the sort of performance that Silent Planet puts on, they’re more than happy to have a bit of fun on stage but very much let the music do the talking while the crowd goes fucking bonkers in return.
I’m actually quite enamoured with this performance, it’s just such an easy experience that hasn’t been too overwhelming other than the occasional bright moment from the lightning. I do enjoy a big production and the like but sometimes I just want to see a band performance that just lays out riff after riff throughout some good songs and that’s exactly what I’m getting with Of Mice & Men.
Great sound, great vibe from the band and crowd, great setlist with the occasional deep cut, just a great and properly solid show. I feel like sometimes some of the bigger bands forget that they still need to actually look like they’re enjoying playing when their production is super flashy. Overall, fantastic show that kept energy high all the way to the finish and Of Mice & Men are clearly enjoying themselves doing this and it shines through for the whole show.
A fantastic new album under their belts and a live show that’s just straight up fun, I can only hope they maintain this trajectory as it’s long overdue.