Of Mice & Men's Austin Carlile Settles Down for Christmas

Posted on Dec 22nd 2011 3:30PM by Chris Epting Comments

Charles Epting

It's Of Mice & Men's last show of the year, a jam-packed metal festival nearly 12 hours long in Anaheim, Calif.

In the cool evening, leaning against his band's American flag-emblazoned bus, Of Mice & Men frontman Austin Carlile takes a deep breath and gets in a reflective mood.

"What an insane year," he said, slightly hoarse from a wild Las Vegas show the night before and a San Diego gig the night before that. "We were in Australia, Europe, New Zealand. We did the Warped Tour. Two headlining runs. We had maybe three weeks off the entire year. We were never home. But it's okay because we reached so many new people this year and really seemed to break out," says the singer, who also used to front Attack Attack!.

Charles Epting

Health-wise, Carlile said he is feeling great and has had no problems from his May 2010 heart surgery. And he's also looking to time at home for the holidays.

"I can't wait," he said. "I'm headed to Texas, and then Colorado, to just hang out with my family and some friends. I need to relax a little bit. Then we have two months off, rare for us, but we'll be able to write the new record in that time. After that? What else - back on the road - for a European tour starting in March. I'm just so thankful for the fans that continue to support us and I'd really like to wish them all a great holiday. We can't wait to see you next year."

Of Mice & Men's 'The Flood' is available now via Rise Records.

Watch Of Mice & Men's 'Monster Outbreak' Short Film