I needed something to put that destructive, nervous energy into… That’s how this band was born.” - Damon Tate
Of Virtue vocalist and guitarist Damon Tate took some time out of his very busy schedule to talk with me about their tour and their new album, Death of the Altar, coming out October 2nd!
I know bands can have tight schedules, but when Damon showed up on screen from his phone in his car, he told me he just drove home from an out-of-town show and hadn’t slept at all yet! I was super grateful he could carve out a few minutes to give me some updates because they just started an incredible overseas tour at the end of September.
When I asked about the new album release, he smiled the kind of smile that says he’s proud of this record. “You won’t be disappointed,” he assured me.
Tate: “It’s also kind of a cool celebration because we’ve never had a record come out while we’re on tour. We’re going back overseas to support the band Unprocessed. We’ll be in London at the Electric Ballroom, the biggest venue we’ve played in London, for the record release. So that’s a cool little benchmark, a little hallmark right there.”
This interview got deep quickly, and that wasn’t a surprise because this is a band that knows how to put it all out there. Through their discography, they dig into big topics like religion, trauma, mental health, substance abuse, societal issues, and relationships; all of this is right up my alley as a psychotherapist. From what I gathered, Death of the Altar is all about being in transition and looking at what we choose to spend our time and energy on.
MSM: “Is there a meaning to you for Death Of The Altar?”
Tate: “The overarching theme is that everybody feels like they’re in a state of transition. It’s shedding old skin, old habits, and bad habits. The world is in a weird place. We talked about everything going on politically and socially: what people gravitate to, for better or for worse, and why. A lot of it came back to the most basic level: anything that appeals to us in a primal sense, or something combative, violence in some ways. It doesn’t always have to be guns. It’s what we do to each other psychologically, what social media does to us, what we can do to ourselves. So our theme for Death Of The Altar is basically anything that, to use the phrase, is a false god, or false prophet type stuff.”
I learned that the band members have collectively been through a lot of ups and downs. Damon told me about his personal history of substance use and his 19 years in sobriety, as well as current life changes that are exciting and scary at the same time.
When talking about life, "lifeing", and having more responsibilities, Damon said, “It changes how I look at music as a whole, too. As these songs were being written and are getting ready to come out, it shines a whole new light. It’s never been just about me, but some of the stuff comes from personal experience, and now it’s hard for me to look at it through only one lens, if you will.”
Interestingly, we both shared our own experiences of having past run-ins with the law. He let me in on one of the moments that shifted his trajectory from getting in trouble to channeling his emotions into music.
There’s an old man on the bus, and he looked at me: ‘Hey, man, life doesn’t have to be as hard as you’re living it.’ That’s all he said to me.” - Damon Tate
MSM: “How did you get into being a musician? Personally, what’s your story of finding music and being in a band?
Tate: “I started music very young. My mom enrolled me in violin classes and music school. She always wanted me doing some kind of activity to keep myself busy. Eventually I got tired of it, but I still liked playing, so I started playing bass. I always make the joke that I played upright, and then in high school the upright turns sideways, and instead of jazz or blues, it turns into punk rock, into hardcore. And I started playing in bands.
I remember, funny story, being on a city transit bus, taking myself to jail (turning himself in). There was an old man on the bus, and he looked at me and said, “Hey, man, life doesn’t have to be as hard as you’re living it.” That’s all he said to me. I was like, interesting. And it stuck with me. You make your own choices, for the most part. In this case, I needed something to put that destructive, nervous energy into. I’d already been in bands, and at this point I isolated myself, but not in a bad way. You strip away all the things. And then I stumbled on people who saw where I was going and could be positive influences for me, and let me say, okay, let’s try going down this route. That’s how this band was born: providing an outlet for that. That was the seed, and it sprouted into us having this conversation today.”
Talking with Damon is easy because he has the vibe of someone who has been there and genuinely cares about other people. This isn’t something you can fake. This kind of energy is earned, and it comes out in the music, which is definitely part of what makes them so great. I got the sense that this band really cares about how the music influences their fans.
MSM: “What’s something you want people to know about the band?”
Tate: “For people discovering us through you (MSM), or who aren’t as familiar: we’ve found ourselves in a position where a lot of people are experiencing heavy music, or certain life things, for the first time through us. It’s almost like a gateway. I think that’s really awesome, to be that inflection point: hey, you might find some heavier stuff, you might find some more popular stuff, but if you don’t know what you’re looking for, start here. It’s been a wonderful thing, especially at shows. Seeing young children, three, four, five years old at your show, all the way to people in their older years. Somebody at the show last night was 75 years old and had never heard of us, and was like, 'You guys are great, you remind me of acts like…' That’s so cool."
MSM: “So Of Virtue is basically the marijuana of metal?” (Laughing)
Tate: (Laughs) “Yeah”
At the end of our interview, Damon laughed and said, “It’s kind of funny, because me being in jail was not one of the things I figured I was going to talk about today. But it’s funny to laugh at now that we’re in a whole different light.” I laughed with him because he’s right. Looking back after getting through tough times feels so much lighter than being in the middle of it.
Tate: “Well, I appreciate you. Thank you very much for your time and the platform.”
MSM: “Same, thank you. Take care and get some sleep.”
Of Virtue is a Michigan metalcore band that formed in 2008 and has five full-length albums released to date, including Death of the Altar on October 2nd. Super excited to pick up this album, and you should be too!
