“Like a Villain” by Bad Omens

Bad Omens’ “Like a Villain” is a song which theoretically may be a soliloquy. But considering that there is a female character displayed on the cover art, for the sake of simplicity we will approach this analysis primarily as presented in the lyrics, i.e. as if the vocalist is addressing someone other than himself and perhaps even a romantic interest. 

However, as it isn’t abundantly clear who the vocalist is singing to, it’s likewise a bit challenging to pin down the minutia of what is being put forth. But generally speaking yes, he does appear to for the most part be expounding on his interpersonal relationship with the addressee. 

Moreover, by the looks of things from his perspective, said association is toxic. And that is not solely to imply that the addressee is a toxic associate. Rather as put forth, both this individual and the vocalist have their own respective issues to deal with. And you know the saying that two wrongs don’t make a right? Well it is from such a position that the singer is presenting his argument, that “it’s hard enough being alone with” himself even. Therefore, having to contend with the addressee also is sorta like overkill as far as he’s concerned.

Song Title

Meanwhile, the title of the song is only found in the bridge, where the vocalist asserts that he cannot be “like a villain”. So the further implication would be that perhaps the addressee is trying to encourage him to do something morally wrong, with such urgings lying at the center of the singer’s disdain for this figure. 

And with that in mind, yes, it is once again arguable that this is a conversation the singer is having with himself or some sort of internal spirit, if you will. But maybe it would require a study of more of the songs on “The Death of Peace of Mind” to really ascertain who he’s speaking to.

Bad Omens and “Like a Villain”

Bad Omens is a group of rockers from the Virginia capital of Richmond that have been formally doing their thing since the mid-2010s. Thus far they’ve managed to put out a couple of studio albums which fared well on Billboard’s Top Heatseekers chart. 

“Like a Villain” came out on 19 January 2022, courtesy Sumerian Records. It is the third single from the band’s album, “The Death of Peace of Mind“.

Two members of Bad Omens are credited with writing and producing this song. They are:

• vocalist Noah Sebastian
• guitarist Joakim Karlsson

And for the record, their bandmates since 2015 are as follows:

• drummer Nick Folio
• bassist Nicholas Ruffilo