Yes, you read that right. Despite what you may think, we are not here to discuss the main character from 50 Shades of Grey.

“I wear it as a badge of honor. They thought I was so dope, they had to write a book about me. Haha, just kidding,” Grey joked about his name. “It was definitely weird at first when I learned about it, and my mom and grandma knew it. The amount of times I get asked if that’s really my name has never slowed down – it’s all the time, anywhere I need to say my name; it’s a nice ice breaker or mildly comedic small talk quip.”

Christian Lee Grey is the lead singer of the metal band Villain of the Story (VOTS). Born May 13, 1995, the musician has been in an array of different bands, but his love for music started at an early age.

Villain of the Story is a metalcore and alternative rock band formed in 2014 in Minnesota, and had a rough start until they gained traction during the Warped tour in 2017, and their song “Peace of Mind” (from the album Ashes, 2018).

“My family was super into music and my dad plays guitar from what I remember. I came across Avenged Sevenfold on Guitar Hero and fell in love. Then found Bullet for My Valentine, and things snowballed from there,” Grey said. “My first band was in middle school, Blackout – [an] instrumental metal band I played guitar for. Then in high school, Logan [his step-brother] and I had a band called All Beyond Reason, then changed our name to Vessel For Tomorrow after a lineup change. I played guitar and screamed, and Logan played drums.”

Grey released a single with a band called Heavensent on Nov. 15, 2019. The band did not release any other music, and was disbanded shortly after.

Villain of the Story started with 5 members: Sam Fassler, Andrew Bart, Christian Grey (vocals), Logan Bartholomew (vocals/bass), and Cody Pauly (guitar).

The band recorded two singles (“The Holy One” and “Somebody to Care”) with Johnny Franck in Oct. of 2013. They then added Sam “Bonnie” Bonati on drums. Bonnie left about a year later due to “personal and musical differences.” Cody also left the band before the release of the EP in 2015 due to “personal reasons,” being replaced by Michael Ivers before touring – opening for Suicide Silence’s “Stronger Than Faith” tour.

Villain of the Story released several singles and albums. Here is a list of all of their music:

Singles “The Holy One” & “Somebody to Care” were recorded Oct. 2013 and released Jan. 16, 2014

Cover of NSYNC’s “Pop” – debuted live on June 18, 2014 on Johnny Franck’s YouTube channel

EP The Prologue (March 3, 2015):

• “A Life Worth Living” (released as a single on September 14, 2014)
• “Queen of High St.”
• “The Holy One”
• “Somebody to Care”
• “I’m Yours”
• “The Phantom” (music video October 7, 2015)

The band then released “Break the Chains” Jan. 4, 2016 as a single while recording their next full length album.

“Dragon Sickness” was then released as a single from the album on Aug. 1, 2016, followed by “Promise Me” in September of the same year. Villain of the Story signed with Stay Sick Recordings during this time as well.

Their album Wrapped in Vines, Covered in Thorns released Mar. 3, 2017.

In early 2018, the band parted ways with Stay Sick Recordings and focused on releasing their album Ashes.

The first single from the album Too Far Gone was released Mar. 9, followed by “Decay” after they returned from tour.

The full album was released on Aug. 31, 2018:

• “The Dark Side”
• “Ashes” (July 17)
• “Lying to Myself”
• “Too Far Gone” (single, March 9)
• “Suffer”
• “Who I’ve Become”
• “An Empty Room”
• “Decay” (single, April 20)
• “Without You”
• “Peace of Mind”

Their album Bloodshot was released November 20, 2020. The band faced some challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and recorded most of the album from their own homes before feeling comfortable enough to travel and record in studio. The music video for the title track “Bloodshot” features Christian’s wife, Taylor.

Bloodshot (2020):

• “Enough”
• “Labrat” ft. Tyler Tate of Hollow Front
• “Bloodshot”
• “Stuck”
• “Burn the Foundation”
• “True Obsession”
• “Something to Feel”
• “Breathe”

Before the release of their next album, Villain of the Story signed with Out of Line Music in November of 2021.

Their latest album Divided was released July 22, 2022.

Divided (2022):

• “Never Again”
• “Jester”
• “Karma”
• “Under My Skin”
• “Losing Control”
• “Wrong”
• “Don’t Go”
• “Divided” ft. Loveless

Their latest releases from this year include: “The First Time (ft. Wind Walkers)” (Mar. 28), “Face It” (Apr. 9), and “The Love You Took Away” (May 10).

On Sep. 3, 2024, the band announced that Logan will no longer be part of the band. The band now consists of Christian (vocals), Cody Pauly (guitar), Cody Crook (vocals), and Page Brownie (bass).

Logan and Christian also have YouTube and Twitch accounts, focusing on games they like and reactions to various games or song requests.

Christian has not been active since he got married to Taylor A. Gartman. He and Taylor had their daughter Lydia Elizabeth on Sep. 11, 2022.

Since then, Christian has been focused on family and Villain of the Story. The content on his socials are shorts of him creating video game inspired music and riffs.

“I’ve been at home with my wife and daughter,” Grey said. “And for work, been working on the band and some client work for song writing and video editing, etcetera.”

Image taken from Instagram/christianlgrey_