Of Virtue

Michigan metal band, Of Virtue, developed a strong following with the release of their breakout EP "To Breathe Again" and debut full-length record, "Heartsounds." With powerful lyricism, and carefully-curated melodies, and aggressive metal/rock instrumentals, Of Virtue has developed a sound that's truly their own.

We caught up with lead vocalist, Tyler Ennis, to discuss their recently released album "What Defines You."

You've recently released "What Defines You" on SharpTone Records; with label backing, how was the process on creating this record different from your previous records?

We recorded the album in 3 different sessions. That was something we haven’t done before but it turned out to work in our favor because we ended up releasing singles before we announced an album, tested a lot of songs live so we could see what worked and what didn't, and we gained a lot of fans that way. All of that work created much more anticipation for a new album, at least it seemed like it!

"What Defines You" has so many amazing tracks, but of all of them, which song was resonated with you guys the most and what do you hope fans take from it?

“No Control” and “Alone” are both songs off the album that we have resonated with the most because it perfectly portrays our lifestyle. A lot of people don’t understand why we do what we do and sometimes we feel alone in our paths, have others telling us what we should be doing with our lives, but at the end of the day, we are the only ones that know what works for us and what makes us happy. If we are unhappy, then we have to change it ourselves because things won’t get better unless we want them to.

Which song on this album was the most difficult for you to create either technically, emotionally, or otherwise?

“Pictures Of You” was probably the hardest emotionally because I wanted to get it right. It was a very personal song I wrote about my sister who passed away when I was 10 months old. We’ve all lost someone we love in our lives and to be able to write a song about that and have people relate to it, I wanted to do it justice and I think we did a pretty good job of doing that.

With so many tours under your belt and having just recently wrapped up another, you have to have some great stories, what's been your wildest show of all time?

Helsinki, Finland & Poznan, Poland were two of my favorite shows we have done. Both were places we’ve never played before and both were very packed to the brim. The crowd reaction, seeing people singing the lyrics back to us, and of course, the number of friendships we made after each show was something we will never forget. That’s what it’s all about, being able to tour all over the world and connect with the fans, I love it!

Now that "What Defines You" is out, can fans expect a (headlining) tour announcement soon?
We have a few things in the works right now and we’re excited to see what opportunities come our way! Keep an eye on our socials - @ofvirtue on all platforms!

If you could perform with any bands or artists, what would be your dream line-up?
Breaking Benjamin, Story of the Year and We Came As Romans would be awesome!

Is there anything else you'd like to tell or say to fans?

Thank you for supporting us for as long as you have and we hope you’re enjoying ‘What Defines You’. You guys are the reason we’re still around today and we can’t thank you all enough for pushing us to keep going. We’re just getting started and we’re excited for what’s next for Of Virtue and we hope you are too!