Interview: Getting to Know Virtue In Vain (Written)

Welsh heavyweights Virtue In Vain return to the fold with their engulfing new EP, Nothing Is All I Am, set for release on Friday 23rd January. The record is introduced by the band’s unstoppable new single and video, Blood Eyes, out now. In this interview, we get to know them a little better.

1. Hello! Thank you for taking the time to chat to us. First things first, tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started.

Hey! We are Virtue In Vain – Hywel (vocals), Mason (Guitar), Dan (Drums).

We are a metalcore band from South Wales.

The band started with Hywel who formed the band and then over the years Mason & Dan both joined from playing with each other around the local scene.

2. Someone comes to you and asks you to sum up what kind of music you play – what do you tell them?

We would call ourselves a metalcore band with influences from the original style of metalcore bands like Killswitch Engage, The Devil Wears Prada and early Architects while adding the new style of metalcore such as Make Them Suffer & Bleed From Within.

However, depending on the person we usually get ‘Metal? Like slipknot’ and just agree as that’s a great compliment to have

3. What’s currently keeping you busy? A new album/EP/single release? A new video? Playing live, or planning ahead?

We currently have our new EP ‘Nothing Is All I am’ coming out on 23rd January 2026 but our first single is out on Halloween called ‘Blood Eyes’.

It’s really exciting to see the work we have put into writing all this EP and knowing that it finally will be out soon for everyone to hear.

4. What is about this current period that is particularly exciting for you?

We’ve put a lot into this EP. It has gone through so many variations and changes that knowing its complete has such an amazing sense of accomplishment.

It’s exciting to also think of how our live show will change with the new release, going bigger and bolder than we have gone before.

5. Tell me about the work that has gone into making it a reality and what it means to you.

A lot of work, sweat and tears have gone into this EP. We had an honest look at ourselves while writing and got to a point where we made drastic changes as it wasn’t the best we could do. Now having the final version and knowing this is what we are proud of and our best work to date, is such an incredible feeling.

‘Nothing Is All I Am’ also marks the final story in the trilogy or stories we planned on writing. So, to tell the end of the story we have been writing is a surreal feeling.

6. Making music and being creative can be a very positive experience and can be very good for the mind. In what way has making music had a positive impact on your mental health?

For all of us in Virtue In Vain it has been one of the biggest aspects of our lives. We have had our best moments & memories from this band and the music we write. It has also helped us learn more about ourselves. From what we are capable of doing if we push ourselves and set goals for ourselves to be better than what we were yesterday.

7. It can also be incredibly challenging, more so in the modern times. What have been some challenging aspects of making music and how have you overcome them?

Balancing the band with our lives has been challenging, trying to make sure that we allow ourselves time to do band stuff and our other responsibilities.

The change in the music industry and how we consume music has been something we have had to adapt to over time, understanding how we connect and show our music with all the new platforms that are coming out.

8. How do you handle the online aspects of being in a band? Having to put out content constantly, promoting across several different social media platforms, and having your success measured in likes and follows?

We honestly have changed from trying to create content we think will be successful to putting out what we like.

Once we made that change, it became a lot easier to be creative online and put out on social media different clips of yourselves. We all joke a lot of well so just not taking yourself too seriously and enjoying yourself is such an important factor as well.

9. How do you make this part of things enjoyable, and fulfilling, for yourself?

We never have had to really try making this fun in all honesty. We are all best friends, so we laugh and joke a lot when we travel, write and make music. At the core of Virtue In Vain we are 3 friends making music because we love music. From there everything else is a lot easier.

10. Speaking directly to listeners – what would you ask they do to help support you?

Come to shows, Stream/Buy/Watch our songs, buy a shirt, tag us online. All of that helps a great deal. Plus not only for Virtue In Vain but for all music. The music scene is a collective of us, and if we help one another, here is nothing that can stop the music.

11. Outside of music, what do you like to do to relax?

We all do different things really. I (Hywel) am creative, so I tend to design a lot of posters and shirts and play games online. Mason is into Warhammer, Airsoft and plays games. Dan is the biggest gamer of us all and plays football.

We all have different things to help us relax and decompress from whatever we are doing.

12. Where can people find you?

We are all the following platforms:

Website | Streams | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | YouTube

Come say hey at a show as well, we are just a bunch of friendly Welsh men.