Bloody Hell, I never expected those soft spoken and very amiable Welsh people to be able to produce such a distinctive and very violent sounding Metalcore band like VIRTUE IN VAIN. But hey, they have done that, and I have a feeling that the city of Cardiff has experienced some major earthquakes while the band was rehearsing for their most current release, an EP of just over 15 minutes which carries the title "Nothing Is All I Am". What the band is presenting you with in that short time are five very direct and to the point songs that are without fail Heavy, confronting and in my view musically brushing into the Deathcore area of Heaviness.

The vocals are a combination of growling, grunting and singing and I have to say that I am thoroughly impressed with how well they not only complement the music, but are able to lift it to another level. Was that really necessary in the first place? Well, not in my book, as I feel that the Metalcore (or Deathcore if you will) that this trio of musicians has produced is of a high quality on its own. And as this is the third EP that VIRTUE IN VAIN have released, I just can't help but wonder how their 2015 EP "For All You Know Is The Mask I Wore" and the 2019 one "Dusk/Dawn" sound. The reason I mention this is because if the quality of those two comes close to "Nothing Is All I Am" I am simply wondering why no record company has p[icked them up and given the time, space and opportunity to grow under their wings. If you ask me, this deserves to be heard worldwide.

"Nothing Is All I Am" is an EP that should make VIRTUE IN VAIN come out smelling of roses, especially as all the songs are obviously written and recorded with a live setting in mind. If the band can replicate the intensity and heaviness that is imminent on this EP, than they should be able to make either some roofs cave in or get some people hospitalized due to exhaustion. Not only that, the bar of the venue will be laughing their socks off while the staff try to keep up with the drinking demand of the audience in order to stay dehydrated enough to endure another round of being thrown all over the place. That is the kind of effect that VIRTUE IN VAIN are extracting with this "Nothing Is All I Am" EP. And when it finishes, the standard reaction is; I want more. Much more.