Of Virtue release new album ‘Death Of The Altar’ – unveil official video for single “Too Late”

Today, Michigan metalcore force Of Virtue have unleashed their highly anticipated fourth studio album “Death Of The Altar” via Arising Empire. Following the breakthrough success of 2023’s Omen, the new record sees the band pushing their sound into heavier, darker and more emotionally charged territory while delivering some of their most immediate songwriting to date.

Built on crushing guitar riffs, industrial electronics, atmospheric production and the striking contrast between Tyler Ennis and Damon Tate’s vocals, “Death Of The Altar” moves effortlessly between claustrophobic heaviness and enormous, soaring choruses. Across the record, Of Virtue  explore what happens when devotion becomes destructive, when love turns into dependency and when the things we give ourselves to begin taking more than they give back.

That idea runs through the album in different forms. Relationships collapse under the weight of obsession, guilt and resentment, while elsewhere the band confront isolation, grief, mortality, mental turmoil and the consequences of self-destructive behaviour. Religious imagery repeatedly collides with deeply human experiences of love and suffering, turning the altar into a symbol for everything we worship, sacrifice for and eventually may have to leave behind.

At its core, “Death Of The Altar” is about reaching that breaking point and finally confronting it. Songs such as the title track, ‘Enemy State’, ‘What’s It Like To Be Happy?’, ‘Flatline’ and ‘Devotion’ approach that struggle from different angles, while the defiance of ‘Can’t Keep Knockin’ Me Down’ offers another side of the record: refusing to remain trapped by the people and forces that have caused the damage.

Arriving alongside the album is ‘Too Late’, a massive, emotionally driven metalcore track that captures Of Virtue at their most visceral. Urgent rhythms and punishing riffs collide with soaring melodies as screams and clean vocals trade places throughout one of the record’s most immediate choruses. Beneath its intensity lies an unflinching confrontation with regret, selfishness and the realisation that sometimes the damage has already been done. The track’s repeated acknowledgement that there may no longer be a way back perfectly reflects the wider emotional weight running throughout “Death Of The Altar”.

Buy and stream “Death Of The Altar” here
Watch the music video for ‘Too Late‘ here