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. 

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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 song "The Holy One" was released on January 16th, 2014. Which was later followed up with the release of "Somebody to Care".
 

VOTS had their debut show opening for Alesana on the MN date of "The Decade Tour", March 29th, 2014 in the lounge stage of The Garage in Burnsville, MN.

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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.

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While recording the EP, they recorded a cover of NSYNC's "Pop", which debuted on Johnny Franck's personal YouTube channel June 18th. 

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On May 11th, the band opened for the likes of Dance Gavin Dance and Capture the Crown as part of the MN date of "The Acceptance Speech Tour". 

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After their second show, Sean Wayne was added on bass in order for Logan to move to vocals. The new VOTS landed a spot on the MN date of "The Allstars Tour 2014".

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Bonnie left the band in early August due to personal and musical differences, before the band filmed their first music video. The video was done by Jeremy Tremp for their next single "A Life Worth Living". The song 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.  

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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.

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In July, VOTS landed a spot on the Minnesota date of Van's Warped Tour after winning the Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands Competition, and were estimated to have pulled the largest attendance for the Ernie Ball stage that day.

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After release a music video to further support the EP, work quickly began on the next release. Recording again with Johnny Franck in March of 2016.

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The first single from the album, "Dragon Sickness", premiered on August 1st 2016.

In September 2016 Villain of the Story signed with Stay Sick Recordings, and released the second single off their record, "Promise Me." Following the signing led to the announcement of the band's first ever tour dates with fellow SSR artist Vesta Collide, for December 2016.

After two short runs across some of the midwest & east coast, Villain of the Story opened the last 11 shows of I Prevail's "Lifelines Tour" in March 2017 in support of their album "Wrapped in Vines, Covered in Thorns" which was released on March 3rd, 2017.

The band struggled to find touring opportunities until heading out for a second time with Glass Houses that December.

At the beginning of 2018 the band mutually parted ways with Stay Sick Recordings in order to start the release of a new album.

"Too Far Gone" debuted on March 9th, being it the band's fastest growing release. 

Villain of the Story hit the road for their longest tour to date in March with Deadships & We Gave it Hell for three weeks, spanning from central Florida to Seattle, WA and across Canada.

After the headline tour they released the second single "Decay".

Once hitting the studio in late June to finish recording the album, the title track 'Ashes' was released on July 17th along with the full announcement on the sophomore album 'Ashes' to be independently released on August 31st.

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The band slowed down for a period of time to recoup debts after the departure from Stay Sick Recordings. Having self released and owning 100% of "Ashes", it was best to stay home and push the album online to generate income to get the back back on the ground.

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Today, Villain of the Story's latest album has proven tremendous growth since its release. Preparations for a third full length album have begun, and is planned to be released through the band itself. Though it may be time to find partners and start building a team prior to its release.