Villain of the Story with special guests The Wise Man's Fear, Execution Day, and Divide The Fall
Overview
Villain of the Story started out as a 5 piece metalcore band based out of Minnesota that was put together from the minds of Sam Fassler (ex We are the Blog! / Insomniac) and Andrew Bart (ex Out Came the Wolves). They hand picked Christian Grey (vocals), Logan Bartholomew (vocals/bass), and Cody Pauly (guitar) to form the band.
The band went into the studio with Johnny Franck (ex Attack Attack!) in October of 2013, and recorded two singles (The Holy One & Somebody to Care). When they returned home they added Sam "Bonnie" Bonati on drums.
Their first singles we released early 2014, followed by their first live performance opening for Alesana in Burnsville, MN
After receiving some positive feedback off the 2 singles, the band decided to go back into the studio in early April 2014 to record an EP. While recording new songs, they spontaneously decided to do a cover of NSYNC's "Pop", which was released in June of that year.
After another live performance opening for Dance Gavin Dance, Logan moved to vocals and long time friend Sean Wayne was added to bass. The new VOTS landed a spot on the MN date of "The Allstars Tour 2014".
Bonnie left the band in early August due to personal and musical differences before filming their first music video by Jeremy Tremp. "A Life Worth Living" premiered on September 14th, 2014.
Cody Pauly left the band for personal reasons prior to the band's debut EP release, and was replaced by Michael Ivers.
VOTS officially released their long awaited debut EP "The Prologue" on March 3rd, 2015 & supported it by opening for various tours that came through Minnesota such as Suicide Silence and The Devil Wears Prada.
The band then landed a spot on the Minnesota date of Van's Warped Tour after winning the Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands Competition.
Over the fall, more music was quickly worked on, with recording taking place once again with Johnny Franck in early 2016.
The first single from the album, "Dragon Sickness", premiered on August 1st 2016.
Villain of the Story announced their signing with Stay Sick Recordings in September and alongside the single, "Promise Me." Soon after the band announced their first ever tour dates with fellow SSR artist Vesta Collide, for December.
After two short runs across the midwest & east coast, Villain of the Story jumped on the last leg of I Prevail's "Lifelines Tour" in support of their debut album "Wrapped in Vines, Covered in Thorns", released on March 3rd, 2017.
The band struggled to find touring opportunities until heading out for a second time with local friends Glass Houses that December.
At the beginning of 2018 it was announced the band mutually parted ways with Stay Sick Recordings.
The lead singles for their sophomore album "Too Far Gone" & "Decay" were written and recorded in California with Noah Sebastian and Joakim Karlsson of Bad Omens.
Villain of the Story hit the road for their longest headline tour to date, spanning three weeks across the US and Canada, with support from Deadships and We Gave It Hell (now "Alura").
Once home the rest of the album was finished and recorded with Johnny Franck. "Ashes" went on to become the band's most successful release at the time. The album being fully owned by the band brought in enough funding to change the trajectory of the group, allowing for more sustainability and financial stability.
In the fall of 2019 VOTS embarked on a string of shows with fellow mid-westerners Hollow Front.
In 2020 amongst the pandemic, the band's third album "Bloodshot' was created. Bloodshot marked the band's first fully self-written and recorded album. It was also the first release without Johnny Franck, however, Will Carlson (producer for Johnny's own band Bilmuri) stepped in to mix and master the band's next few records.
"Bloodshot" went on to bring substantial growth for Villain of the Story, with break out tracks "Stuck" and "Bloodshot". This was the record that caught the attention of record label Out of Line, to which the band signed with a year later for their next release "Divided" (July, 2022).
During the Divided release cycle, VOTS had their first truly break-out song "Losing Control". The song brought in many new listeners and opportunities for the band.
After the success of Divided, it was time to produce another record. Multiple singles were released throughout 2023/2024. It was at this point original singer Logan Bartholomew left the band.
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