Video Premiere: OF MICE & MEN's 'Real'

OF MICE & MEN has premiered “Real”, the stunning companion video to the band’s recently released single. Check it out below.

“Real” is taken from OF MICE & MEN‘s much-anticipated new album, “Cold World”, set for a September 9 release on Rise Records. The band began giving fans a sneak preview of the album with the release of first track/video “Pain”, the video for which has already racked up more than 2.1 million YouTube views. Next came the audio for “Real”, which premiered on SiriusXM‘s Octane.

Fans can get “Pain” and “Real” as instant downloads by pre-ordering the album.

Directed by Max Moore, the “Real” video is dedicated to the memory of 14-year-old Cassy Colunga, who recently passed away after battling brain cancer. The band first met with Cassy through the Living The Dream Foundation and upon hearing that her condition worsened, arranged for a visit while recording the album. They spent the day with Cassy and her family, brought her to the studio for a preview of the record (she was the first person outside of the band, producer and engineer to hear the album) and recorded her handclaps for “The Lie”, an epic “Cold World” track that finds Carlile venting his frustrations about the medical system and “calling out the one percent for not taking care of the people they should be,” he explains. “Now Cassy‘s name and the sound of her clapping hands are on the record,” says Carlile. “It’s something that captures that moment and that relationship forever. When we think about everything we went through to make this record, that’s something that we’ll never forget.”

For the “Real” video, the band worked with The Marfan Foundation, Living The Dream Foundation and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and asked fans to submit video footage of themselves holding signs that answered the question, “What makes you feel real?”

In an interview with Rolling Stone in which he discusses his daily battle with Marfan syndrome, Carlile also talked about the making of the video. “We shot it in Portland, Oregon, during a day off from tour,” he said. “We asked fans to submit footage holding up poster boards that explain what makes them feel real. The images that pop up mention everything from music to foster care to activism to the Marfan community to St. Jude’s hospital. We even had some fans in the studio while we were recording, just to include them more in the process.”

After wrapping up the remaining dates on their summer arena tour with MARILYN MANSON and SLIPKNOT, OF MICE & MEN will celebrate the release of “Cold World” with a string of special album release shows in Los Angeles, New York, Cincinnati and New Orleans. Those performances will see the band performing “Cold World” live in its entirety for the first time ever. The shows will take place between the band’s scheduled performances at a number of major festivals in the U.S. Tickets are available and bundled with a copy of “Cold World”. OF MICE & MEN‘s headlining U.K. tour comes next, kicking off September 30 in Birmingham.