Metal band emerging from lockdown in full voice
David Flynn
A heavy metal band formed in the dark days of lockdown has moved into brighter days and is creating new music to entertain audiences.
Daniel Honan has lived in Athlone for the past five years, and through that period he has spent time working in jobs and studying at TUS, but has made the most of his remaining free time working his craft as a singer in the band 'Avirtue'.
In the short few years since the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, 'Avirtue' has gone from strength to strength as a four-member heavy metal band, which includes young musicians, Daniel on vocals, Evan Smith on drums, Patrick McHugh on guitar and Jay Kosta on bass.
Daniel has been based in Athlone since his days studying Music Technology and then Business at the university.
The 24-year-old Mullingar native started playing drums around eight years ago. “I always wanted to sing, but I was a bit tone deaf at projecting my voice and I liked the heavier type of music and I loved screaming my emotions out,” he said laughing. “As a drummer, I could never have done that, and I think I was better at voice than the drums.”
Daniel indeed had a talent and pursued it and built up an online presence on YouTube while he was training his voice. He had simply bought himself a microphone and created a background of pieces of material in his bedroom in Mullingar, and sang, while working his craft.
Throughout the past few years, Daniel has developed his own voice by using several different breathing techniques which he admits he learned through trial and error.
“At home, I sometimes let out screams for no reason, but my poor girlfriend, Nicole is used to it now,” he said laughing. “I always liked techno and my Dad was into the American rock bands, ‘Tool’ and ‘Perfect Circle’ and I framed my music off his and I developed an interest in heavier rock.”
Daniel was first in his family to play in a rock band.
Since Daniel and the boys established ‘Avirtue’ he has been writing the lyrics of their songs, which he admits he has found a bit stressful.
“I’m not the most gifted in writing and can fall a lot into writer’s block and when growing up I preferred watching movies to reading,” he said.
There were originally three lads in Avirtue, and Jay, the fourth bandmember and new bassist won’t be introduced officially until their new album is ready in mid-2023.
“While we did start the group in 2020, we only started playing proper music this year, and we’ve all worked hard on it, and wanted to do something really good,” said Daniel.
They’ve promoted their music on the social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram, which is how Daniel met the other lads at the start of the pandemic.
“We were in different parts of the country anyway but we had the odd meeting together whenever lockdowns opened up,” said Daniel. “At the moment, Patrick writes his stuff for the guitar and sends Jay a bass track, and then they would send me the instrumental. Evan does the drums and makes it all sound better.”
Daniel said that the heavy metal band members sometimes use an ideas board to “flesh things out,” and they work together every few weeks.
His lyrics are personal to him and sometimes he deals with grief and sadness in his songwriting.
“I came from a religious background as a Christian and sometimes I stretch in and out of it and I can be devoted and know God’s real and then I can be at the opposite end,” said Daniel. “I grew up with it, and it’s always in the back of my mind. I find it inspirational and in a lot of my music there are thoughts of being abandoned by God and searching. We play a song called ‘Unanswered’, which is about praying for answers where there are no answers.
“My vocals are very harsh and the guitar would be more progressive, and our new stuff is faster paced, more aggressive and moving.”
In amongst the new material that 'Avirtue' is creating, Daniel is trying to use strong metaphors in his lyric writing.
“I used to write in an old style and used a lot of ‘I’ and ‘me’,” he said. “I’m trying all the time to write more phrases where there is imagery in the words.”
'Avirtue' has grown as a band, “100%,”, as Daniel said, over the past two years.
“It’s a slow progress and we all live far from each other and life gets in the way, so things are sometimes slower than we’d like,” he said. “This is my sport. I used to do kickboxing and other things and I can’t do that anymore. It’s a trade-off. Trading one thing for another. But this gets me out and about a lot more.”
'Avirtue' was the chosen name of the band after they rolled over many other names.
“We looked at ‘We Stood As Giants’ and scrapped that and we were thinking of other names around the word ‘virtue’, such as ‘Patience is a Virtue’ and then thought of 'Avirtue',” said Daniel.
'Avirtue' played their first two gigs of 2022 in Dublin including being part of a Battle of the Bands competition in Fibber Magees.
Their first EP album was called ‘Lost Hope’, and is available on Spotify and Itunes.
'Avirtue' has merchandise of t-shirts and hats available at their concerts and through their website.
“We get a percentage of the sale of the stock, and it’s helped a bit and we also make some money off playing concerts where we’d either get paid from tickets or take a percentage of the door,” said Daniel. “I like to have the freedom to go home and write music, and I prefer that over having a lot of money. But of course I’d prefer a balance.”
'Avirtue' is working hard on the new EP and they have put money into buying new music equipment.
Daniel said that before they do more gigs as 'Avirtue', he would like to see the group develop more songs, so early 2023 will be a busy time for Ireland’s newest heavy metal band.
'Avirtue' can be followed on Facebook and Instagram.