Of Virtue guide us through every ounce of honesty, drama and heaviness that makes up their spellbinding new record.

Death Of The Altar

Tyler: Having this song as the title track was really awesome because it allowed us to use our life experiences as a whole and tell our stories in a very easy but hard subject: life as we know it. We end up loving and worshipping the wrong things and the wrong people to the point that we start becoming bitter with other things. We wanted to create a track that shows the listener that through the good and the bad, we are still standing here after everything we have gone through, but we are no longer going to love or worship those who don’t give us the same energy back. This song represents the album’s overall theme because we need to start focusing on ourselves and the things we can control, not just others. “A Deadly Sin, A Deadly Sin, I’ve been losing faith in you, If you’re my God, then God’s a monster” is meant to symbolise that we see this “thing” or person as someone we can no longer put our energy or trust into. “If you’re my God, then god’s a monster” is to show that even if you are a someone who holds a lot of power over me, I don’t care who you are, you no longer hold that weight anymore, I am done letting you control my life or my feelings. I am moving on.

Fun fact: We could not come up with a unanimous song title, so it was originally called ‘Death At The Altar’ to symbolise that love got so close to the end goal and then it dies, but then we changed it to ‘Death Of The Altar’ to symbolise that we no longer believed that love exists in the form that we are led to believe.

Divinity

Damon: This was one of the first songs we worked on while writing ‘Death Of The Altar’ and one of the last we completed. Traditionally, we strayed away from love songs, but we took a page from an old playbook for this theme. Like our song ‘Cold Blooded’ (from our album ‘Omen’), we used vampiric/gothic themes to describe the longing and desire our protagonist was feeling. It can be a once-in-a-lifetime feeling to meet someone that excites and stimulates you on so many levels that you couldn’t see yourself living life without them. We wanted the melodies to be haunting, the lyrics to cut deep and take you into the mind of our protagonist, while the instrumental was an absolute buzzsaw that created a sense of calm within the chaos.

The End

Mike: On my way down to Nashville to record this song, I was hit by a deer in my rental car and had to turn back around for the night. The trip down there was filled with construction, detours, and accidents, and it felt doomed in a lot of ways. Once I arrived for the session (8 hours late), our friend Evan and I proceeded to hit the ground running with this one. While writing lyrics, we both gravitated toward themes of nihilism, apathy, and accepting certain inevitabilities life throws your way. This made the song more playful and tongue-in-cheek, even though the topic itself is very bleak. Musically, we wanted something grimey and dirty to offset the lyrics and paint the world that we were building. I’ve always been a huge fan of strong, simplistic beats that you could picture being played outdoors at a festival or punishing the room in a smaller setting, and I think we hit the nail on the head with this one.

Enemy State

Tyler: I was at a work meeting when our producer, Lee, called to tell me they wrote one more heavy song, and when I came into the studio later that night, I needed a song written because we were almost on our last day of writing. I accepted the challenge, and I’m really happy with the final result! I have always felt like I’m at war with my mind, constantly fighting to feel good enough, to feel like I am on the right path, but then there are days when I get really down on myself, and I don’t know why my mind drives me there. After an hour and a half of writing, I came straight to the studio with a full song mapped out lyrically and vocally, and I couldn’t be more proud of how it turned out. Being your own worst critic and your own worst enemy felt like the perfect theme for this song, and that’s how we came up with ‘Enemy State’ – meaning that I am always in a fight-or-flight mode with myself.

Fun fact: this song was originally written as a nod to video games of always being stuck in a level or fighting a boss that you can’t get past no matter how hard you try, and I called it ‘Enemy Phase’. Even though the song title changed, the meaning stayed the same.

What It’s Like To Be Happy?

Tyler: I was in a very dark place last year when we were in the studio writing. ‘What’s It Like To Be Happy?’. It’s an anthem for those dark days when you question your self-worth and wonder if you’re always going to feel this way. Waking up every day and feeling the same truly gets to you and puts you in the worst mental state of not being able to crawl out of it. If it wasn’t for my bandmates, I don’t know if I would even be in the position I’m in today. I felt alone, I felt helpless, and I turned to very unhealthy coping mechanisms during my lowest moments and writing this song really helped change my mindset and find a purpose and that motivation to chase the things that do make me happy. We all get stuck worrying about tomorrow or yesterday, and we forget the only thing we can control is what’s happening in the moment. Focusing on the smaller things in life truly brings us happiness, and having something to chase keeps me going. This song is therapeutic in many ways, and I am so proud of the connection that others feel with it, knowing that they’re not alone in their struggles.

Fun fact: This song actually took the longest to complete because we had many revisions as we wanted it to be perfect. The breakdown was originally in there, and then we took it out and were happy with it for a few months; then, when we were finalising everything, a couple of us said we missed it, and we put it back in.

Too Late

Damon: The very first song written for the album! I naturally wanted to see what my range could be as a singer/lead after hearing the success of songs like ‘Sinner’, ‘Cut Me Open’, and ‘Cold Blooded’. This was a step outside my comfort zone, but a welcome challenge in a lot of ways. Creatively, I am glad to work with a group of guys who don’t have an ego about parts or how things need to be done. We work to make the best songs possible, and the ability to shift in and out of roles sets us apart from other bands. Lyrically, this song dives into my thoughts on loss, heartbreak, and regret in a lot of ways. I struggle to communicate my emotions at times, and I feel as if it has cost me so much throughout my life. Maintaining healthy intimate relationships takes work, and at various stages, I only wanted the easy things and disregarded my partner’s feelings altogether. With my family, I kept my life private out of shame or indifference, and as I have gotten older, I’ve realised I need to share and start connecting with the people around me that I love because they won’t always be here for conversation or questions. This song was me pouring my heart out onto this record in a way I haven’t done before, and I am so proud of how everything turned out.

Welcome To Hell

Ryan: ‘Welcome To Hell’ is a peek into the chaos of everyday life. A world where everyone seems angry, divided, and constantly searching for someone to blame. The “Hell” in the song isn’t necessarily the literal place, but the personal hell we can create when we allow anger, hatred, and negativity to control us. The religious imagery plays with the idea of heaven and hell, suggesting that no matter who you are: preacher, sinner, or saint, we’re all capable of finding ourselves in the same place. At the same time, the song recognises that you ultimately have some control over how you experience the world, even when everything around you feels completely messed up. ‘Welcome To Hell’ is about embracing the absurdity of it all, finding good company in the chaos, and realising that sometimes hell is wherever you choose to make it.

Fun fact: That bell sound you hear in the second chorus. Taco Bell.

The Art Of Love

Ryan: ‘The Art of Love’ is about finally walking away from a toxic relationship that has become a constant battle of control, manipulation, and emotional warfare. Every time you think you’ve found a way out, they try to pull you back in, keep score, and make you pay for trying to leave. Eventually, you realise that there’s nothing left to fight for and that continuing to surrender pieces of yourself will only cause more damage. “The Art of Love” is ultimately about recognising when love has become war and having the strength to stop fighting a battle you can’t win.

Fun fact: We had a friend from another band do the pre-breakdown line… any guesses?

Flatline

Tyler: ‘Flatline’ was written from the perspective of someone noticing that their lifestyle and decisions they’ve made have caught up to them. Back in 2021, my dad went into Cardiac Arrest, and we didn’t know if we were going to lose him or not. Over the course of 6 months, we had a lot of conversations about how we all need to take care of ourselves and find that balance of enjoying our lives but also taking care of our bodies before we get to a point where our bodies decide our limitations for us. That whole situation changed a lot for us all, and being able to write a song about that experience, and also my own experience with stomach issues that I’ve dealt with since 2016, really made this song a special one. The line “Every time my body fails me, can’t blame it on bad luck, will I live to say I’m sorry or am I born to self-destruct” was a direct conversation I had with my dad regarding our lifestyle choices and how we keep digging our own grave and not doing anything about it.

Fun fact: This song was actually written in 2022 and was supposed to be on Omen, but we scrapped the idea and said we would revisit it someday. I am so happy that the song got a new life and it made the cut for this album!

Devotion

Damon: ‘Devotion’, by definition, is a deep love, loyalty or commitment to something. My mother has gone through hell and back in her life dealing with my fathers drug addiction that played a part in him having his life taken from him. She was stuck raising two little boys on her own, and again, she did whatever she could to shield, protect and nurture us despite this horrible tragedy. It took me a long time to understand some of the hard truths about why my father was no longer here with us. There was a period of time when I also started heading down the path that he did, abusing substances and trying my best to escape reality. Through all of this, she kept fighting for me and loved me in a way no one else could. There are no words I can say that properly express how I feel about her, and I will stand by her as long as I live.

Can’t Keep Knockin’ Me Down

Ryan: ‘Can’t Keep Knockin’ Me Down’ is about finally standing up to a person who has repeatedly torn you down and crossed your boundaries. We call out the hypocrisy and refuse to accept their false sense of superiority, making it clear that the relationship has become more destructive than worth saving. The lyrics “I’m gonna walk away from the hell that you paved, and lock you out of the heaven I made” represent taking back control and protecting the life and peace we have spent years building for ourselves. The imagery of “digging out your fangs” and being “born from the flames” shows that although this person caused pain, surviving that experience made us stronger, not broken.