Of Virtue Evolves With The Release of Their New Album Omen

Of-Virtue-Press-Shot-_2-PC-Mattheu-Cole-1209x680 — Credit: Mattheu Cole

Lansing, MI metalcore band Of Virtue released their latest album, Omen, on October 27 via Arising Empire Records. Band members Tyler Ennis (Vocals), Damon Tate – (Vocals/Guitar), Mike Valadez (Guitar), Ryan Trinh (Drums) have released three previous albums, Heartsounds (2011), Salvation (2015), and What Defines You (2019). The album was produced by Lee Albrecht, Evan McKeever, Andrew Baylis, Cason Slovak, and Grant McFarland and mixed and mastered by Daniel Braunstein who has worked with bands such as Spiritbox, The Ghost Inside, Silverstein, and Dayseeker.

Michigan is home to several great metalcore bands like I Prevail, Sleeping With Sirens, and We Came As Romans. While the aforementioned bands garner most of the attention, Of Virtue has been gaining traction with over 26 million Spotify streams and over 3.4 million YouTube views.

Omen is a departure from the band’s earlier work which means there is going to be one segment of fans who love it and another that is going to be disappointed. While their previous albums were dominated by hardcore vocals supplementing heavy guitars and rhythms, Omen is an evolution of the band which takes them in a tamer more mainstream direction. Other than the bangers “A.N.X.I.E.T.Y. ” and “Hyprocrite”, the album is much more melodic with cleaner vocals and few screams. Braunstein has mixed Omen to put more emphasis on the vocals with the guitars relegated to more of a supporting role. The characteristic metalcore guitars and rhythms are still present, just not as overwhelming.

Speaking about the album, Damon Tate shares, “This record is 3 years and a whole lifetime in the making. If we had listened to everyone who told us to give up and move on – or the doubt in our own minds that can creep in – then we wouldn’t be standing here today, stronger than ever. OMEN is a shining beacon that we can change ourselves for the better and attempt to provide that same light for others in the process. We did not choose to exist in this life, everyone’s circumstances and situations are different. For us, it is a privilege and a responsibility to shine our light onto others, as those artists and kind human beings did for us during our darkest hours. We do not have to be slaves to past decisions, mistakes made, or self-sabotage as long as we keep putting one foot in front of the other.”

Coinciding with album’s release, the band also shared the title track. Tate shared, “Omen was written as an open letter to my younger self. Nobody can change the past or the mistakes that were made – the only thing we can do is be as open and honest about our journey with others that may be in a similar situation so they can potentially avoid some of the harsh realities that can come along with growing up. For a long time, I bottled up the shame and guilt attached with my alcohol/drug abuse and even though I was on a road to recovery, those negative behaviors started to manifest themselves in other ways that were equally as unhealthy.”

As I said previously, there will be some who will not like Of Virtue’s new album. However, I am not in that camp. This album definitely caught my ear. I think their new direction is stylistically similar to I Prevail which should only gain them more mainstream attention and grow their fanbase. Omen is out now and can be streamed here.

Of Virtue will be supporting German metalcore band Any Given Day on their European Limitless Tour 2024 in February, followed by an appearance a March appearance at Pulp Summer Slam 2024 in the Philippines alongside bands including Parkway Drive, Code Orange, Story of the Year, and Fit For An Autopsy. Ticket information for their tour dates is available here.

Upcoming Tour Dates:

Sat, NOV 4 – Grewal Hall at 224 -Lansing, MI

Sat, DEC 9 – Historic Masonic Temple – Bay City, MI

Thu, FEB 1, 2024 – Lido – Berlin, Germany

Fri, FEB 2, 2024 – Gruenspan – Hamburg, Germany

Sat, FEB 3, 2024 – Die Kantine – Köln, Germany

Sun, FEB 4, 2024 – Willemeen – Arnhem, Netherlands

Tue, FEB 6, 2024 – Kavka – Antwerp, Belgium

Wed, FEB 7, 2024 – Kulturzentrum Schlachthof – Wiesbaden, Germany

Thu, FEB 8, 2024 – Kiff – Aarau, Switzerland

Fri, FEB 9, 2024 – Im Wizemann – Stuttgart, Germany

Wed, FEB 14, 2024 – Simm City – Vienna, Austria