Metalcore band Wolves follows up almost 10 years after releasing a promising EP
The whole Wolves rhythm section is just slamming counts when “A Stolen Horse” opens. This blunt force is countered by a clean, flat vocal harmony. Twenty seconds later, the song turns to airy, echoey notes pinging from guitars against more heavy drums and clean vocals.
The metalcore band is fond of these abrupt changes. The tracks often sit just at the edge of traditional songs' reach; Wolves tests and favors a math-curious approach. Songs on “Self-Titled” level up and level down rather than flow, and the music engages you more than it moves you.
I still like groove, though, and Wolves flirts with it from time to time. “All Or Something,” for example—after a typically halting 45-second opening sequence, the band hits a confident little riff that takes the song into and out of a heavy groove.
The album’s promotional copy cites Every Time I Die, Dillinger, and Poison the Well. Those bands? Okay, maybe some. But from that great era, I’d suggest Wolves are a bit more like Candiria than ETID and Dillinger.
These musicians played in other bands before forming When the Wolf Comes Home in 2016 and releasing the EP Gone Are the White Flags on Damage Limitation Records soon after. They stalled out after that but finally are releasing a worthy full-length metalcore album, “Self-Titled,” on September 5, 2025, on Ripcord Records. The drums sound crisp and deep with a very light touch on the cymbals. The guitars are full and tight, the bass seamlessly filling in the bottom end. The band says four members share vocal duties.
The Poison the Well reference makes sense when you hear songs like “The Rich Man and the Sea.” This is metalcore—some clean singing complimented by hardcore scream-shout singing, and chugging riffs that bookend more melodic guitar sections. This song recalls those turn-of-the-century Poison the Well albums.
Slow, patient, and heavy, “A Guide to Accepting Ones Fate” opens with generous guitars. And here is another groove that deserves a call out—at 1:35, a curly riff takes hold, and the band really jams. A few moments later, it’s gone.
The whole Wolves rhythm section is just slamming counts when “A Stolen Horse” opens. This blunt force is countered by a clean, flat vocal harmony. Twenty seconds later, the song turns to airy, echoey notes pinging from guitars against more heavy drums and clean vocals.
The metalcore band is fond of these abrupt changes. The tracks often sit just at the edge of traditional songs' reach; Wolves tests and favors a math-curious approach. Songs on “Self-Titled” level up and level down rather than flow, and the music engages you more than it moves you.
I still like groove, though, and Wolves flirts with it from time to time. “All Or Something,” for example—after a typically halting 45-second opening sequence, the band hits a confident little riff that takes the song into and out of a heavy groove.
The album’s promotional copy cites Every Time I Die, Dillinger, and Poison the Well. Those bands? Okay, maybe some. But from that great era, I’d suggest Wolves are a bit more like Candiria than ETID and Dillinger.
These musicians played in other bands before forming When the Wolf Comes Home in 2016 and releasing the EP Gone Are the White Flags on Damage Limitation Records soon after. They stalled out after that but finally are releasing a worthy full-length metalcore album, “Self-Titled,” on September 5, 2025, on Ripcord Records. The drums sound crisp and deep with a very light touch on the cymbals. The guitars are full and tight, the bass seamlessly filling in the bottom end. The band says four members share vocal duties.
The Poison the Well reference makes sense when you hear songs like “The Rich Man and the Sea.” This is metalcore—some clean singing complimented by hardcore scream-shout singing, and chugging riffs that bookend more melodic guitar sections. This song recalls those turn-of-the-century Poison the Well albums.
Slow, patient, and heavy, “A Guide to Accepting Ones Fate” opens with generous guitars. And here is another groove that deserves a call out—at 1:35, a curly riff takes hold, and the band really jams. A few moments later, it’s gone.
